Roses and Baby's Breath
by JadedPhoenixBurning
Summary: In just one year, both of the Duke Boys in the household have gotten married and moved out and Luke even has a little girl of his own. Now Daisy is the last little bird left in Jesse's nest. As the men learn how to both become husbands and fathers, Daisy is ready to take flight on her own.
1. Chapter 1

**Roses and Baby's Breath**

**Chapter 1: **  
_Disclaimer: Originally, this story was titled "A Bouquet for Daisy" and was co-written with DixieDavenport but after the dissolution of our partnership I have edited the story on my own. Some of the elements that she put in place are still here while others are not. I have taken scenes out that I felt were not needed and have added where I felt scenes were lacking. Still, much of the basic plot elements were devised along with her either through writing together or chatting. So I cannot take complete credit for the whole story but I have decided to try to take much of the story into a different direction. In fact, since so many were against Darcy, I MAY throw in a monkey wrench into that whole scenario. You'll have to read to find out just what it will be._

_Anyway, please let me know what you think and suggestions are always welcomed._

For years, Jefferson Davis Hogg had tried to cash in on all of the benefits that accompany all of the racers each time that his county hosted a race during the season. Finally, Boss has found a means to collect on the monetary perks that come with them during the off season as well. After convincing the racing commission of the need for one, J.D. Hogg was given the task of organizing an end of the year party. It was now the thirteenth of December and tomorrow night's party would be the first of the local Christmas parties.

Boss was so desperate to both make a good first impression on the commission and for the racers to bring in a fresh bit of revenue, he'd done the unthinkable; he'd asked the Dukes for some suggestions on how to make the party one that would entice some of the racers to spend some extra time in his county. One product of those suggestions ended up being a karaoke machine. Jebb and Kira had told Boss some of the times that they'd had with their friends at Karaoke Bars.

Enjoying the new machine in the Boar's Nest, the Dukes were laughing as some of their friends tried their hands at singing along. Brody was up on stage along with Bo and Luke as they did a couple of numbers together. Jo laughed at the men as she walked over to where Daisy was cleaning a table up.

"Hey, Daisy. I've wanted to talk to you. I haven't seen you and Darcy out together in a while. Is everything alright between you two?"

"Oh sure, honey. Everything's fine. At least I think everything is alright. He's just been out of town a lot lately. He's in Florida right now in the middle of some sort of extra training. I just wished that I knew why he's suddenly decided to take on extra flights at the airport. Between his usual flights and his training, I've barely seen him over the last few weeks." Daisy couldn't help the slight pout in her voice. She turned back to the bar and got another tray of beers along with a soda for Kim since she had an extremely low tolerance for alcohol to take back to her cousins' table as they left the stage.

Eying the door, she knew that those who hadn't already arrived should soon. Luke and Jo, along with Bo and Kim, got to the bar well over an hour ago. Jebb would arrive soon since Jesse had already agreed to watch the boys for him. Plus, Kira would be in later as well. She'd called and said that she was getting a late start back from Atlanta this week.

She'd been staying in the big city during the week since she was helping an old friend and business partner of Ben Kyle's try some cases. Kira would be in Hazzard from Friday night until supper on Sunday then arrive in Atlanta late every Sunday night and would continue to do so for the next month and a half.

"Oh come on, I think you should get up there and try a song. It's not like you can't sing," Bo teased his new wife of two full weeks. They were married on Thanksgiving Day of all days. That had caused more than just a few hearts to be broken in Hazzard and the surrounding counties. He knew that Kim could sing, she just didn't like to have folks hear her. She'd sing along with the hymns in church but that was the extent of it for her, though he had caught her singing along with the radio when she was cooking for the two of them and when she was in the shower.

"It's not gonna happen Bo. You get to be the show off in this relationship," Kim replied as she grabbed her soda.

"Maybe once Kira gets here we can convince her to get all of the women up on stage together," Luke suggested. "Kira's used to the whole karaoke thing."

"She'll be here in about ten with Jebb," Bo said casually. He'd checked in with his sister by way of his unusual link that he had with his twin just a few minutes prior since he was starting to worry about the fact that she hadn't shown up yet. "I wonder how many of her and Jebb's friends are going to show up for the party tomorrow night."

"This bein' the first time that they're havin' a party in the off season? Not to mention it being so close to Christmas, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot don't show up this time around," Luke said as he took a sip of his beer.

"Better not let Boss hear ya say that," Daisy said as she picked the empty glasses up off of the table. "He's hopin' for a big turnout. A lot of folks are already here in town so it shouldn't be that bad of a party."

Sure enough, the bar was filled with various racers that were drinking down Boss's watered down beer and were having a good time. Bo didn't see any of Jebb or Kira's friends in the group of strangers though. There were, however, a few that Bo and Luke knew who came over and talked to them and congratulated Bo and Kim on their recent marriage.

Bo and Luke were both practically legends among the women in the area. After being the most sought after bachelors of the county for years, both were currently married off as well as their cousin Jebb. Now, half of the legendary Dukes were off of the marriage market and the ones that were still single rarely came to Hazzard. Still, there were always a few women that just refused to believe that the married men could possibly be happy about their marital status. Though most of those women knew better than to do or say anything in front of the Duke Wives.

One of those women who had yet to learn was Kathy Griffith. She had been upset when Bo passed her over for the once mousey brunette doctor that he married. She and Ernie Leadbetter showed up together at the bar right after Jebb and Kira finally made it to the Boar's Nest. Jebb went ahead pulled up a couple of chairs and he and Kira sat down to join the others.

Jebb slipped an arm through Kira's and held her hand while he waited for Daisy to swing by to get their orders. He'd missed her while she was gone. The weekends weren't long enough to spend time together. She had only been going to Atlanta for a mere two weeks and Jebb was already tired of being alone during the week.

Once they were settled in their seats, the two couples began to chat about idle stuff while Luke and Jo were dancing on the floor. Kira asked how things were going at the clinic and hospital since she'd had a busy day at court and wanted a change in pace for the night.

"Well, it's easy to see that the flu season has started in Hazzard. And everyone waits until the evening to call for a doctor. I'm just glad that I have the early shift at the hospital tomorrow instead of the night shift. Most folks will try to tough it out with their symptoms until it gets later in the day. The waiting room will get flooded tomorrow night by the time supper comes around. This wouldn't happen if more folks would just take the flu shot," Kim said as she finished her soda.

"Good luck getting Bo to take a flu shot. I think he'd stand in front of stampeding wild boars before he'd voluntarily let someone stick him," Jebb chuckled.

"At least I won't have to wait around long for a house call from my favorite doctor," Bo smirked.

"He'll probably be just as bad of a patient as he always has been though," Jebb joked. "He was such a baby anytime he got sick. I remember Lavinia used to have to hide his medicine in his food."

Kira laughed at the description of her brother when they were younger. Yes, she could see where Bo might have been a pain when he was young and sick.

"I wasn't that bad, Jebb. Besides, Lavinia wasn't the only one who had to hide medicine for a Duke Boy," Bo threw back. They continued to talk back and forth, just kicking back enjoying their time together. It was only when two distinctive voices were heard from over at the next table that the fun stopped.

Ernie and Kathy were exchanging various rumors that they'd heard from around town about the reasons behind the sudden marriage of the latest Duke Boy. The fact that they had been responsible for most of those stories hadn't stopped them from repeating them as truth. Kim held a hand to Bo's arm to try to keep him from jumping up to defend both hers and his reputation. The last thing she wanted was to kick off the weekend by bailing her new husband out of the local jail.

Kira had felt Jebb stiffen up beside her when Ernie started to add a few comments about their marriage as well even though they'll be married for three years come Christmas. Knowing that things were bound to escalate fast, she wrapped a leg around one of her husband's to keep him from being able to easily jump up in anger. The moment that he tried, Jebb would end up stumbling with his leg tangled up with his wife's.

"Bo, let it go. He's tryin' to bait you," Kira told her twin, though the warning was just as much for her own husband as it was for Bo.

Across the room, Luke and Jo were getting ready to head back to the table when he saw that it looked like his cousins had acquired some unwanted guests. He couldn't tell what was being said but he did see that his younger cousin looked like he was trying to keep control of his temper.

"We'd better go see what's goin' on," Luke muttered to his wife.

Unfortunately, he never made it to the table before Bo jumped up and tackled Ernie. Luke raced to help his cousin and before he even knew it, fists were flying and elbows were being rammed into anything they could come in contact with. Jebb had tried to join in but had ended up on the floor when he'd jumped up to help his cousin. It was only when Rosco did his usual shooting out the chandelier that the Duke Boys pulled back.

Kira hadn't missed the dirty look that she was getting from him for holding him back from joining the fight. Kira'd had a hard enough day today, only to have to make the long drive in from Atlanta to Hazzard to take the time to explain her actions to him right now. He'll just have to stay mad at her.

"Alright, you Dukes. Now that's enough," Rosco hollered above the noise of the bar. "You three are under arrest." Rosco indicated to the three men that had been in the middle of a tussle when he'd come out of Boss's office.

"Rosco, you can't arrest us. You don't even know what was goin' on out here," Bo shouted at the man. His blood was still boiling and now he could see that Kathy was talking to his wife and whatever she was saying seemed to have her upset even more.

"Well, now, we'll sort it all out downtown," Rosco said as he put his cuffs on Bo and Luke, connecting them at the wrists. "Enos, you cuff Leadbetter and get him to the jail, too," Rosco ordered his deputy.

"Yes sir, Sheriff." Enos was glad that he'd been given the job of arresting Ernie. He'd hate it if he had to be the one to lock up Daisy's cousins again. He went ahead and took Ernie on out while the Duke Wives were left behind as they watched Rosco escorting their husbands out.

"Jo, you go on home and take care of Faith. We'll see if we can bail the fellas on out," Jebb said. If he wasn't allowed to help with the fight earlier, at least he could try to get them out of jail. "Unfortunately, it looks like they'll be Rosco's guests at the Iron Bar Hotel tonight."

"You really think so?" Kim asked in concern.

"I'm 'fraid so. I doubt Rosco will even try to get them arraigned tonight," Jebb said as he steered his cousins' wives toward the door. Meanwhile, Daisy pulled Kira aside to find out what had happened since she was on a bathroom break when the boys were out here duking it out with Ernie.

"Ernie provoked Bo into slugging him. Then Luke got in on it."

"Why's Jebb lookin' like he's mad at you then?" Daisy asked her cousin as she pulled Kira aside as Jebb and Kim spoke. She'd rarely seen them two angry with one another. This was definitely rare.

"He's just mad that I kept him from throwin' a few punches, too."

"So his prides wounded just because he wanted to play, too." Daisy giggled a bit. "He'll get over it."

"If not, this'll be some weekend home. I better go and see to the fellas though," Kira said as she followed Jebb out the door. She climbed in beside of her husband in their car and barely got the door closed before Jebb punched it and caused the Charger to lurch forward.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Once at the courthouse, Rosco promptly locked Bo in one cell downstairs and Luke in the other. Luke was grateful that Enos had the good sense to put Ernie upstairs. Finally alone, Luke asked the obvious question that had been on his mind from the moment that he first rushed to his cousin's side.

"Ok. It looks like we get to spend the night in here. Care to tell me why?" He couldn't hide his irritation with Bo.

Bo rolled his eyes. Luke had been trading skin with Ernie since they were both in grade school. Why was his cousin so mad just because he'd gotten into it with Luke's old rival tonight?

"You know Ernie as well as I do. What do you think happened tonight?" Bo saw the look in his cousin's face and saw that he wasn't going to spend the night in the neighboring jail cell without more of an explanation than that. Puffing out a breath, Bo continued. "I wasn't just going to sit there and let him get away with talkin' about the women like he was. He was gettin' Kim upset and eventually I just couldn't let him get away with it no more. I'm surprised that Jebb didn't knock him on his ass, too. Ernie even said a few unflattering things about Kira and the kids. Still, someone had to do something so I did."

Luke let out a sigh. Yes he did know how Ernie was, but he thought that they were all getting old enough that they should at some point be able to be in a crowded room together and not end up behind bars. He finally said, "Yeah, I know Ernie. It's just that I ...Never mind."

"Oh, no. Luke, you needled me into talking and it looks like we may have several hours to get caught up. Spill it."

Luke let out a ragged breath as he ran his fingers through his hair before he went ahead and told his cousin what he knew he'd have to eventually. "Well, you may not understand this, but I've really been trying not to end up here since Faith was born. I don't want her to grow up having to see me in here, regardless of the reason for it."

Bo stared at his cousin. He hadn't thought how having a baby could change things for his older cousin. He's always been the more responsible of the two but he'd still been just as ready for a good bar room brawl. Bo always thought that Luke enjoyed them more than he did though Luke would never admit it. Now Luke was admitting that he was trying to pull back from all of that for the sake of his one month old little girl.

Bo tried to find something to say. He hadn't meant to get Luke in trouble tonight. He just hadn't thought much at all when Ernie started going on and on. Fortunately, Bo was saved from having to make an awkward apology when Jebb slung the upstairs door open and stomped down the stairs.

"Whoa! Why the attitude? You're on that side of the bars," Bo said as he looked up to the racket that Jebb was making.

"Your sister is upstairs trying to see if she can get ya'll out of here tonight," Jebb said sullenly. He was still angry with Kira after she'd intentionally kept him from helping his cousins when they needed him. How many times has she been the instigator of a barroom brawl over the years? He couldn't understand why she'd stand in his way tonight from joining the other men. "It looks like you two get to spend the night, though. I told the girls that it would probably be tomorrow before we can spring ya and sent them on home."

"Great," Luke huffed and swore under his breath. Bo wasn't any happier than Luke was about not going home tonight. Bo was about to make a comment of his own when he saw his sister make her way down into the cell area of the jail.

"Sorry, fellas." Kira called as she quietly made her way down the stairs. "Get comfortable. Ya ain't goin' nowhere tonight. Walker is on the circuit this month and he doesn't set bail after dark. I'm surprised that he's even comin' in on a Saturday. We'll have to come back and get you two in the morning."

Luke swore again. "Judge Walker? Great."

Kira nodded. "Sorry guys. I tried."

"Thanks anyway. So what time in the morning?" Bo asked. If he had to wait he at least wanted to know how long he'd be waiting. He wasn't at all sure how well Kim would like staying at the cabin alone. It would be the first time she had been alone all night since she had been attacked by her ex-husband Ted Wright; an attack that had nearly killed her.

"We'll be back before eight in the morning. Any other Judge and you would be here at least until nine-thirty or ten. The thing is, Walker will expect you two back in here the same time Monday morning. The good news is that if you plead guilty, you might be able to get out from under this and be home before Christmas."

"Plead guilty? You have to be kidding," Bo said. He felt fully justified in knocking Ernie down a couple of notches. "Why should I have to plead guilty?"

"Because, Bo, legally you are guilty. You take your lumps and it will all go away," Kira said as she bore a hole in her brother.

"Kira, you and Jebb heard him."

"Yes. And I told you that he was baiting you," Kira responded to her brother.

"Can't we just say that he started it?" Bo asked. Come on, what good is having a lawyer in the family if she couldn't get you out of an assault charge?

"Bo, you threw the first punch. Dozens of people saw it. That's all that Walker is goin' to care about. Not to mention that you and Luke ended up goin' two on one with Ernie before it was all said and done. So no, I can't just say that Ernie started it."

Behind Kira, Jebb was working his jaw. He was figuring the same as Bo. Kira should be able to do something about this. This is her family after all.

"Well that's just great," Bo said out-loud as all of the men were pretty much in agreement.

"Bo, listen to me. The best thing to do is to just plead guilty so the charges can be down-graded from aggravated assault to simple assault. If you go in there like you are now, Walker just might give ya a year for spite." Kira watched her brother's face and saw that he was listening to her about as well as if she was speaking a foreign language. "Fine. Have it your way."

Kira threw her hands up and headed back upstairs. She'll try talking to the guys later. Tonight she wasn't getting anywhere.

Jebb's jaw dropped as he saw his wife give up and leave. Telling the other men that he'd see them in the morning, he headed up after Kira. He had a few things that he needed to say to her about all of this. First the bar and now this? It all has to stop.

Bo turned to Luke, "Can you believe that? She actually wants us to plead guilty."

"It might not be such a bad idea, Bo," Luke said. He didn't like it, but Kira was right; the facts were the facts. They couldn't change them now.

Bo couldn't believe what he was hearing! "Luke! Come on, you can't be serious."

Luke looked Bo in the eyes, "I am serious, Bo. This isn't about swallowing your pride. For me, it's about spending the holidays at home with my wife and daughter, not locked in a cell with you. Its time to grow up."

Bo still couldn't believe that Luke was serious about pleading guilty but didn't want to continue the debate in front of Rosco as he was just coming back downstairs. It was going to be a long night. Bo just couldn't help worrying how Kim would handle spending the night out in the cabin alone. Bo could mentally kick himself for jumping into the fight with Ernie, but he still couldn't have just sat that either.

Luke hadn't been in front of Judge Walker before but he knew the man's reputation. It was now nearing midnight on December thirteenth. According to Kira they would see the judge on December sixteenth. Knowing that they could expect a minimum of two weeks in jail which would put them at missing Christmas with the family and not going back home until about New Year's Eve at the earliest. Maybe she could ask for a delay until after the holidays before going to court on these charges. Luke frowned as another thought just crossed his mind.

"Say, Bo, I know you didn't really like what Kira had to say but-"

"Can you blame me for not agreeing with her? She wants us to plead guilty when I didn't even start the fight."

Luke held up his hand, "That's not the point. Did you notice anything about her and Jebb?"

"Like what?"

"They both talked to us, but didn't say a word to each other. There was something going on with them," Luke said.

"Sure they did. There ain't nothing wrong with them two. I ain't seen them fight in three years. Now ain't no different."

"Oh yeh? What did they say?" Luke challenged.

"What?"

"You said that you heard them talkin' to one another, what'd they say?" Luke asked as he slipped his arms through the bars that connected their cells and leaned on his arms.

"Well, Jebb was here talkin' to us, Kira came down, then she...Well he...You know, Jebb did look like he was mad at her."

Bo scrunched his face. Could it be that all of the recent time apart was taking its toll on their marriage? He tried to call out to his sister but he hit a brick wall. He guessed she'd said all she planned to for the night. He collapsed on the bunk in his cell and stared out of the window and prayed that Kim would be alright by herself tonight. Hopefully, this will be their only night apart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

* * *

Daisy watched as her cousins were led away by the local sheriff and deputy just as she had hundreds of times before. She hoped that they'd be able to make it home before morning but somehow she doubted it. The most that the men could expect would be to still be able to make it to the racing party tomorrow night.

She went to head back to clearing tables as she noticed that someone else was watching the men as they left with just a bit more interest than any of the others in the bar. Giving the woman a critical gaze, Daisy wouldn't have ever thought that Patty would have been someone who would be watching the married Duke Boys with such interest. She was so shy and she'd never really shown them much interest before.

Teetering on the verge of amusement and being a bit offended on behalf of the women who were even now preparing to leave now that their husbands were gone, Daisy shook her head and went back to work while making a mental note about the incident.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira waited until after they'd gone in to see if they could get the other Dukes out of jail for the night before she couldn't hold her tongue any longer. Shifting in her seat, Kira confronted her husband about the cold shoulder that she was getting from him as they neared their home.

"You shouldn't have kept me from helpin' Bo. Ernie deserved every bit of what he got and more. If you hadn't-"

"If I hadn't kept you from joining in the fight, you'd be sittin' in that jail cell right alongside Bo and Luke," Kira shouted back at Jebb as the Stonewall Jackson careened down the back country roads.

"Dukes don't abandon other Dukes," Jebb said through gritted teeth.

"No one has been abandoned. I tried to warn Bo that he was bein' baited. He chose to slug Ernie anyway," Kira replied rather loudly.

"It still don't feel right to know that they are spendin' the night in jail and we're goin' home," Jebb said as he pulled up in their own drive-way.

"Then go back and ask Rosco to lock ya up, too!"

Kira got out of the car and headed inside. She went in through the front door and stomped on up the stairs without stopping to say anything to Jesse who was drinking coffee in the kitchen. When Jebb came in, Jesse got on up and stood in the doorway to wait for him to put his coat up.

"Daisy called me and Jo came by to get Faith. Were you able to get them boys out tonight?" Jesse asked then sipped his coffee. For the last month, ever since a tornado ripped through Hazzard in the first part of November, he'd been staying with Jebb and Kira until the family farmhouse could be rebuilt.

"No sir. They won't be arraigned until tomorrow. First thing at eight o'clock," Jebb explained.

"Alright. I'll go and get them boys in the mornin'. Now, what is up with you and Kira? She just stomped on upstairs and didn't even stop to talk on her way up," Jesse said.

"We just had a little fight about what happened at the Boar's Nest, is all. When things went down in the bar, she tripped me up and made it where I couldn't help Bo and Luke," Jebb complained.

"So basically, she kept ya from actin' a fool and gettin' arrested along with the others?" Jesse asked.

"Uh, well, I guess you could put it that way," Jebb said. Somehow, having Jesse put it that way was a bit different than when Kira had pretty much said the same thing.

"I see," Jesse answered simply.

"Uncle Jesse, it's just that I felt like I should have been there to help them. I should have been fightin' right alongside them, not-" Jebb was cut off by Jesse.

"So, in other words, you'd rather be sittin' in a jail cell tonight rather than spendin' time with your wife that you only get to see for about forty-eight hours a week."

"That ain't it." Jebb still refused to admit his uncle and wife were right.

"Uh-huh. You sure Kira knows that?" Jesse asked before heading back into the kitchen to straighten it up before he headed off to the room that had been his for the last month.

Jebb watched his uncle walk away and was amazed at how his uncle could still make him feel like he knew about the same about life as he did when he was a kid. Sighing, Jebb figured that he'd better head up and see if he could smooth things over with Kira. As Jesse had pointed out, he only got to see Kira two days a week right now. He didn't want to spend the weekend fighting with her.

When he got upstairs he saw that Kira had already changed and climbed into bed. Jebb stripped out of his clothes and slipped in behind his wife. She had her back turned to him so he tried to pull her back up against him. Jebb figured that Kira must be pretty mad at him. She wouldn't turn around or even relax up against him. He rested a hand on Kira's hip and pulled her towards him and rolled her onto her back. It was only then that Jebb realized that Kira was already fast asleep.

Rolling his eyes, Jebb fell back against his pillow. He could tell that this was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kim settled on the couch as she waited for Jo to return from putting Faith down for the night. Kim had tried going home but every time she heard a noise outside she instinctively believed that her ex-husband was in every shadow. Being out in the county instead of the city hadn't been that bad when Bo was in the house but without him at home it was a bit unnerving to be by herself. Every sound that she heard was turned into Ted stalking her once more.

He'd been bound and determined to kill her once and for all. In fact, he'd nearly succeeded just this past spring. She'd gone out to stay with the Dukes after he'd found her in town for their wedding anniversary. His present for her were a few broken ribs and several bruises. Then he'd jumped bail and hunted her down out on the farm. Ted had plunged a knife right in the middle of her chest. She'd spent time in the hospital but the whole ordeal had helped to push her and Bo together. After that, she'd moved in with her Uncle Irving Appleby and had spent as much of her free time as she could with Bo. She'd begun to feel so safe around him, which hadn't come easy considering her last relationship. But Bo being himself had torn down all of her walls and made himself right at home in her heart.

"Are you okay now?" Jo asked as she came down the stairs.

"Yeh, fine. I guess it's really silly. I just couldn't stay home tonight," Kim replied.

Jo tried to ease her friend's mind, "After what you've been through, believe me, it's not silly. You're more than welcomed to stay the night. You know that you are welcomed anytime."

"Thanks. I guess Daisy should be home soon then. Or is she staying over at Darcy's tonight?"

"I think she'd rather be staying with Darcy, but he's not home so she'll home right after the bar closes," Jo commented before asking, "So, what happened out there at the bar? What got Bo so riled up?"

"Ernie and Kathy both came over and sat down at the next table over and started throwing some insults. He knows the right buttons to push to get any of the guys riled. And you know Bo well enough by now to know that he doesn't exactly know when to walk away from a fight. Kira tried to warn him that he was being baited but..." Kim shrugged.

Nodding, Jo figured that she might as well as change the subject so that she and Kim could relax so she made herself comfortable and leaned in toward Kim and smiled. "We'll, we really haven't had a lot of time to chat since the wedding but you have got to tell me. How was the honeymoon?" Jo cornered Kim.

"Well, it was nearly cut short, thanks to Luke," Kim said as she remembered how Luke had spiked the moonshine with salt peter.

"Luke?" Jo said about to ask what her husband had to do with Kim and Bo's honeymoon.

"Uh-huh. It seems that Luke decided that he had a little bit of revenge that he wanted to take out on some of the men. So he put saltpeter in the shine," Kim explained.

Jo frowned. "Luke? Luke put saltpeter in Bo's shine? I've heard of salt peter when I was in the Marines but it can't actually work. Right?"

"Well, that's what I thought, too," Kim replied with a tone that didn't hide her annoyance.

"Oh no!" Jo was now trying hard not to laugh, "Oh come on, a Duke not really wanting to have sex. I didn't think anything could make that happen."

Kim explained, "Well, now it didn't cause him not to want sex. It doesn't affect the desire, only the ability."

Jo suddenly got a mental picture of what Kim was telling her and began to laugh hysterically. She finally managed to say, "So he couldn't? At all?"

"Well that first night I was so wasted it didn't really matter anyway. I passed out shortly after we got to the hotel," Kim started. "I was completely unaware that there was anything wrong. Too much alcohol in my system I guess. The next morning, Bo could hardly find the words to tell me what had happened. Fortunately for us, I know a lot of medical tricks. He didn't like some of them but considering that the only other option he had was to sit and cross his legs, I finally got him to think outside of the box." Kim smirked as she thought back to Bo's reactions to some of her suggestions. "By the end of the weekend he was starting to get going on his own, though. Good thing, too. A damaged Duke ego is a terrible thing. But you have to admit, doing that to Bo on our honeymoon was hitting just a bit below the belt."

Jo tried not to grin but couldn't hide the fact that she actually found Luke's prank pretty funny. "Yeah, it was, but do you know what Bo, and who knows who else, did to Luke on our honeymoon?"

"Well, Bo mentioned pulling some pranks on Luke."

"Yeh, well, when we got to the hotel, Lukas reached for his condoms. They were not where he packed them. So he looked closely and found the packs all had holes in the entire box."

Kim knew that Faith had to have been conceived on their honeymoon, "Oh, no. Faith?"

Jo shook her head no. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure he found them before he used any. Trouble was, there were a couple of times that they... well... weren't exactly nearby." Both women knew very well just how fast a situation could arise to make a full box on a nightstand a little out of the way to retrieve. While Jo was laughing, she suddenly thought of something, "Kim if you wouldn't have known those tricks how long would Bo have been unable to... you know?"

Kim thought a minute, "He was still showing some effects when I got my period on the night of the first. He was fine by the time I was finished with it."

Jo frowned.

"What?" Kim asked.

"I was just thinking back. There were a few days that Luke was really not himself, if you catch my drift."

Kim giggled, "I've heard that the Duke Boys do nearly everything together, but to not do things together on this level," Kim laughed some more. "It serves him right. He got caught in his own trap. None of the other men were able to enjoy themselves, but neither was he. I bet he didn't see that one coming. Just to get back at him, I ought not release you until after Christmas rather than the twenty-third."

"Kim! Who are you trying to punish? Lukas or me?"

Kim laughed as she put her hands up in mock surrender, "Alright, alright. I guess now that the fellas are married, they've thrown everything that they've ever known about birth control out the window."

It was then that Jo realized what Kim had said, "Kim you said none of the other men were able to enjoy themselves. What do you mean by that if Lukas was out to get Bo?"

Kim tried to stop laughing before she continued and swore that Jo nearly rolled her eyes. "Well, just how do you think that Bo found out what Luke had done? Jebb helped him. Jebb cooked the mash and everything to brew the moonshine. Luke just added the saltpeter to the mash. He still had to keep his word to Jesse and the government that he wouldn't make any shine, after all. Apparently, Luke and Jebb were supposed to have one older jug that was free from the saltpeter set aside but that jug just so happened to be the one that had been taken to the house for the rest of the family to drink out of the night of the bachelor party. Luke and Jebb were drinking out of the wrong jug!"

"But how did Bo know all of this?" Jo asked.

"Simple, Kira. She wasn't too happy with Jebb when she found out. And on her last weekend before heading out of town, too," Kim said with a slight grin.

"So Jebb was out of action, too?"

"From what I could tell, it wasn't just our guys but everyone who was at the bachelor party and wedding, too. If they drank more than a glass or two of 'shine," Kim said.

"Oh Lord! That was an awful lot of men between the two events," Jo said as she looked up at the clock. It was getting late. She had hoped that Lukas would be home by now. Just then the phone ran and nearly scared both women out of their skin.

Answering the phone, Jo heard Jesse's voice on the other end of the line explaining that the men wouldn't be home tonight. _"I'm sorry, darlin'. There just ain't nothing else to be done about it. I'll go to the courthouse first thing in the morning to get them boys on out. You just go ahead and take care of Faith and not worry none. Now, I'm goin' to go ahead and call Kim, too, so she won't go to worryin' about Bo overnight."_

"Uncle Jesse, Kim's here with me. I'll just go ahead and let her know. Thanks for letting us know. I'll see you in the morning," Jo replied grimly**.**

_"Good-night."_

"Well, I guess there's nothing left to do but head on off to bed," Jo said knowing that she only had a small window before Faith would need to be fed and changed again. She could only hope that maybe Faith would wake up just as Daisy walked past her room on the way to the brunette's room. Then maybe Daisy would take care of her for her.

Getting on up, Kim figured that she'd better get some sleep. "Alright. I have to be at the hospital early anyway. Night, Jo."

The women then went on up the stairs and went off to restless sleeps without their husbands.

* * *

~01~

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Jesse had the feeling of déjà vu. He'd gone to town to get Bo and Luke out of jail more times than he cared to remember. One of these days, those boys were going to have to learn how to settle their differences with other folks without using their fists. Bo has been married for only two weeks and was already locked up while Luke had a one month old baby girl at home. He didn't know why he assumed that getting married would have calmed any of his boys down. Jebb's been married for almost three years and he'd gotten mad because he didn't get arrested right alongside his cousins.

Jesse waited for the boys to be brought up before the judge once again to have bond set. Once they were in the courtroom, Judge Walker set bond for each of them at one hundred dollars and advised them to not be late for court Monday at eight o'clock sharp. Jesse posted the bond for the boys. On the way home they tried to justify their latest arrest but Jesse cut them off.

"I've already heard enough from the others. Let's just get on out to the farm. There are still a lot of things that need to be taken care of today. Especially if you two still plan to go and play with all of your racin' buddies tonight at the banquet," Jesse huffed.

Luke and Bo exchanged looks and smirked at one another. At least Jesse hadn't lectured them. He must figure that their wives would take care of that now that they were married. Luke just hoped that his uncle would be wrong on that assumption as Jesse pulled up at Luke's farmhouse.

Luke slowly made his way up the porch steps. He gave Jesse and Bo time to get out of the yard before he quietly opened the door just in case his roof blew off as he entered the house.

As he walked into the kitchen he was met by Daisy. Quietly he said, "Where's Jo?"

"She's upstairs," Daisy said.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck where it had a crick in it. "How dead am I?"

Daisy shrugged, "They were in bed when I got home."

Luke made his way up the stairs quietly. The door to the bedroom and the nursery were open. He checked the bedroom first. Nothing. Then, he quietly walked into the nursery. Jo looked up from rocking Faith just as he had silently approached the doorway. Luke knew most people would never have heard him, but his wife wasn't most people. She'd had the same training that he had, but she had used it a lot longer than him. Shoot, she grew up a Marine Brat so the military life had been hers right up until she'd gotten caught up in an attack on an Embassy that she'd been stationed at. It was only then that she was discharged from the Marines and she'd gotten her first taste of civilian life.

"Jo, look ... I'm-" Luke started.

"Sorry. Yeh I know that you are. And it won't happen again; that is until the next time," Jo said.

He had to grin. She was right. He couldn't promise with any certainty that this wouldn't happen again. Not here in Hazzard. "Well how about I promise that I'll try to make sure that the next time isn't any time soon?"

Jo smiled as she stood up and handed Faith to her husband who could already smell an unpleasant aroma wafting up from his baby girl. "We'll see how long you can keep that promise. But for right now, you're on diaper duty. I'm going to take shower."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

At the end of her shift, Daisy slipped into the ladies room and changed into a skirt and blouse for the night. She had wanted to wear something special for Darcy. She'd not gotten to see him much in the last couple of weeks so she wanted to make the most of the time that they had together. Tonight would be the first time that she has gotten to spend a whole night with her boyfriend since Thanksgiving. The bad thing was, she suspected that now that Darcy had finished his training, their time would only lessen. Daisy wondered if there was anything that she could do to convince Darcy that he didn't need to take on any extra work; that he should set aside more time for her.

Stepping back out into the bar, Daisy looked around to see if Darcy had arrived yet. Grinning widely, she hurried over where the tall, dark and handsome pilot was sitting in the back corner booth.

"I'm so glad you came," Daisy said as she hugged Darcy after he stood up to greet her.

"I couldn't exactly refuse to do anything that would let me spend some extra time with you. Now could I?" Darcy let Daisy in on the inside of the booth then slid in beside her. Daisy made sure that she stayed as close to Darcy as she could. She wanted to send clear messages to him of what she wanted to do later tonight.

Of her cousins, Jebb and Kira were the first to show up. Once they had arrived at the bar, they both split up in separate directions as they each both greeted various friends; an action that wasn't missed by Daisy. Kira headed to the bar where some of her racing friends were seated while Jebb took his own drink and headed off to the other end of the bar to hang out with some of his friends that he rarely gets to see anymore.

By the time Bo and Kim showed up to the Boar's Nest the beer had flowed pretty heavily and the party goers were watching some videos that Cale Yarborough had been showing. The videos were then followed by Boss taking over the stage and welcoming the racers to the first annual end of the year holiday party.

As the master of ceremony, Boss Hogg also had the job of recognizing the top racers in each division. Boss paused and pulled his cheat sheet out of his pocket since he didn't personally know everyone who was there. When he got to congratulating the Dukes on a good year of racing, he was choking on it. When he closed his speech J.D. announced that the bar would remain open an extra hour and that for the next hour he would give a discount on the drinks. What he didn't announce though was that he was raising the prices on the food.

The crowd gave the fat man a cheer and a round of applause both because he was getting off the mic and that the normal closing time had been waved. The race officials from each racing division with the exception of NASCAR each took a few moments to announce the top points leaders in each class and ask them all up for a picture.

Back at the table, Bo hadn't expected for anyone as important as Cale to show up at the small get-together in Hazzard. He wasn't able to stay long but had made a point to speak with the Duke Boys and congratulate them on their marriages. Just after he left, a drunken Blake stood up and announced to the room that the professional driver hadn't been the only one to bring along some videos.

"I just have to prove why those of us who race in Motor Cross know how to have more fun; better than those of you folks that have to have four wheels under you when you race." Blake held up a tape and hollered out, "I took the liberty of putting various dares that our crew has done over the years onto a tape. Who wants to watch a decade's worth of fun?" Blake was spurred by some of the laughter and clapping of his fellow bikers.

On that tape, Bo was able to see Jebb's initiation into the group that he raced and partied with. Somehow, the whole crew had gotten into the Falcon's football stadium. The camera caught Jebb with his bike parked all the way up in the nose-bleed section in a close up before panning out to capture the sight of Jebb climbing onto his bike and then riding down the stairs all the way down toward the bottom of the stadium seats. He then jumped the bike the last few rows and rode across the fifty-yard line.

"You know the hardest part of that was gettin' the bike up there," Jebb laughed. Considering he was barely seventeen when he and his buddies broke into the stadium for that dare, Jebb thought that it had been pretty impressive.

As the tape continued, every single dare seemed to get just a bit closer to the edge than the last one as the tape continued. Bo could tell that Jebb and his friends had really started to rack their brains on the various dares and initiations as time went on. Eventually, what seemed to be a street race like one that Jebb would have had with his friends when he was younger filled the screen.

Seeing a yellow motor cycle that resembled Jebb's first bike, Bo followed it as it raced another bike. Someone that he couldn't place was giving a rundown of the race. In just a few moments the race was over and sure enough, his cousin had been the one that had been on the bike that crossed the imaginary finished line first. On the screen, Jebb's friends whooped and hollered in response as he was surrounded while the other rider removed their helmet. Bo was surprised to see that the other racer had been his sister.

Next, he heard Jebb call Kira out on some sort of wager. _"Alright. I won. Now you have to pay up."_

_"You are such a perv, Duke." Kira gave Jebb a dirty look._

_"You should have thought about that before you agreed to the bet. All of us have lost this bet at least once. You'll learn." Jebb chuckled. Turning toward to the camera, Jebb spoke to his invisible friend behind the camera. "I think it's time to move this party so Kira's initiation into our little troop can be completed. What do ya say? Where should we head, now?"_

_"Let's see..." A woman behind the camera could be heard. "I think my initiation was over at-"_

_"Forget it. If I'm going to do this, I'll choose where we're going," Kira said as she walked out of the frame._

_"Alright, everyone. It's Kyle's turn to be in the spot light. Let's pack it up and head on out." _

_The crowd all shouted out again as Jebb motioned for the woman behind the camera to turn it off. When the camera was turned back on, it was clear that the group was in a bar of some kind. It was equally clear, once Jebb began to talk, that this time he was operating the camera. He walked up to where Kira was sitting sullenly at the bar with a drink in her hand. _

_"It's time to pay up, Kyle. No more killing time. Last call is only twenty minutes away. It's now or never."_

_"You seem to be in an awful big hurry for me to do this. Guess you know that you'll never see me do this again, huh, Duke."_

_"That's why I plan to put it on tape. That way I can watch it anytime I want." Jebb could be heard chuckling in the background._

_"Can I at least finish my drink first?" Kira asked as she made a face at Jebb._

_"Nope. No more stalling."_

_"Alright, well, I hate to waste anything so..." On the screen, Kira stepped closer to the camera and Bo could see that Kira was dumping her drink on his cousin. Afterwards, Kira stepped up on her barstool and then climbed up onto the bar._

Around the Boar's Nest, folks began to laugh the moment that Kira gave Jebb a beer bath on the screen. That laughter turned to whooping and hollering as the scene on the television showed Kira performing a striptease. Bo was horrified to see his sister on the T.V. while Jebb was furious that his friend would show his wife stripping on the screen in front of the whole bar.

"Shut it off, Blake!" Jebb scowled at the other man that he'd known since high school. Jebb had forgotten that he wasn't the only one to have a copy of that tape.

Seeing that his friend looked ready to strangle him, Blake fast forwarded the tape and stopped it on one dare in particular on purpose. Since he didn't want anyone to see his wife on the screen, Blake figured that he'd just put Jebb back up on the giant television screen.

"Can anyone who wasn't there for this dare identify our next contestant on _I Dare You_?" Blake hollered out again as the bar erupted in various reactions to the next scene on the screen.

It started off in what appeared to be a parking lot in the middle of the night. Bo couldn't make out most of those that were in the crowd but he did see his sister as she was standing back in the crowd laughing her head off as the other bikers started to move aside. Bo scanned the crowd to see if he could see his cousin with her but couldn't. As the folks on the screen moved aside, Bo was shocked to watch a biker walk up in a black helmet, and nothing else, with the face shield down to hide his identity.

The crowd whooped and hollered. Sending up cat calls as the biker straddled his bike and revved it up as the rest of the bikers bolted for their own bikes. The camera man got into a car and leaned out of the passenger window and zoomed in on the only thing that could identify the biker. A tattoo that Bo couldn't believe Jebb had. Although from what he had heard, Jebb had intended it to just be his name. Kira, though, had paid the artist extra to change it up a bit. Instead of Jebb Stewart Duke, it read _Jebb Sweetness Duke_.

There on the television screen was his brother-in-law/cousin, riding through a town without a stitch of clothes on. When the sound of sirens could be heard in the background along with the sight of blue flashing lights, Bo busted out laughing. There Jebb was, running from the cops naked as a jaybird while racing down the street on his motorcycle. Off to the side of the room, Jebb's face was turning all shades of red as the man who had been filming kept a running commentary as the group of bikers began to split up. It appeared that both Kira and Jebb (along with some of the unnamed bikers) had decided to jump a fence to get away from the police cars that were closing in on them.

When the video showed Jebb landing hard and taking a spill on his bike, nearly every man in the bar crouched forward as if protecting their own crotches and gave out sympathetic groans at the pain that Jebb had obviously been in at the time of the stunt.

"Ow! Now that had to hurt," someone in the bar shouted out.

"It did," Jebb said grimly. Tonight wasn't fun anymore. He began to wonder how he could get Kira to agree to leave this _festive _party early so they could head on home.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Cooter was driving back to Hazzard after a late night tow from the other side of Iron Mountain. After taking the car in to the garage so that he could start work on it first thing on Monday morning. Once he'd finished he figured that he'd get a quick beer before he headed home. Pulling into the lot, he spied something that he was certain had to be a first. It looked like Jebb and Kira were in the middle of a fight right out in the parking lot.

"If you want to leave, then leave! I ain't stoppin' ya," Kira said as she glared at Jebb.

Cooter took one look at the couple and knew that he'd best make himself scarce so he headed on inside; leaving the married couple to duke it out in the lot without a witness. Once inside, Cooter spotted Daisy so he went over to where she was sitting with Darcy.

"Hey, Daisy, I just saw the strangest thing. Kira and Jebb are out in the parkin' lot screamin' at one another. What gives?" Cooter asked as he slid into the booth of the darkened bar.

"I can't figure it out either, Cooter. They've been at it all weekend as far as I can tell. I noticed that something was off with them two last night."

Across the room, Kira came back into the bar. Alone. Jebb was nowhere to be seen. Kira went over to where some of the other Motor Cross racers were sitting. "That's odd. You don't think that Jebb actually left Kira here do ya?"

"He couldn't. They can't be that mad at one another." Daisy began to wonder what was happening to her cousins? She'd never known any two people that were so in love. In three years, this had to be the first time she'd ever really saw them mad at one another.

"I think I'll go see if I can figure out what's gotten into them two," Cooter said as he left Daisy and Darcy in their booth. "Hey darlin', care for a dance?" Cooter asked Kira as he took her hand.

Not being able to tell the old family friend no, Kira stood up and took his hand. "Why not?"

Walking out onto the dance floor, Cooter went ahead and began to ask just what was on his mind. "You mind me askin' what that scene with Jebb was all about outside? I've heard you two have been at one another's throats a lot lately. That ain't like ya'll."

"I'd rather not talk about it, Cooter," Kira sighed. She knew that she shouldn't have sent Jebb on home but she felt like they really just needed some time apart right now. And odd feeling considering that all they seemed to do lately was spend time apart.

"You sure?" Cooter gave Kira a crooked grin. The kind that he knew disarmed nearly all of his friends.

"We've just been goin' at one another all weekend long ever since I got home from Atlanta. I don't know what's happenin'. I mean, I only get to see Jebb and the boys for two days a week right now and it just seems like we spend the whole time mad at one another." Cooter pulled Kira closer as she spoke so that he was hugging her more than dancing with her on the dance floor.

"Now, darlin', have ya thought that just might be your problem? You two ain't spendin' no time with one another no more. You just got to figure out a way to make some more time for one another."

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jebb wasn't sure if he should head on home or not; especially since it meant leaving Kira behind. True Bo and Luke were still inside, but they were both busy with their own wives. Jebb sat in the car debating with himself about whether he should go inside and try to talk to Kira again. It just seemed that no matter what they said to one another, they only succeeded in frustrating the other even more. Jebb would definitely say that frustration was at the very core of their problems. Frustration at spending seemingly endless nights apart and trying to cram a week's worth of family time and personal time into just forty-eight hours each week. Considering that their early part of their relationship was built while being a thousand miles he would have never thought that being apart by less than two hundred would be so hard on them.

Getting out of the car, Jebb started to head to the door of the bar only to come face to face with his wife and Cooter. He just stood frozen as Kira looked at him. She had thought that he'd left already.

"Alright you two, both of ya'll need to sit down and talk to one another. Jebb, I's plannin' on drivin' Kira on home but seein' as how you're here, I think it'd be best if ya'll found a nice little spot to work whatever's wrong between you two out. Otherwise, it's bound to get a lot more complicated if ya wait any longer. Now go on. I don't expect to see either one of you in church tomorrow until you're back to being the couple that you've always been." Cooter nudged Kira towards Jebb as he spoke.

"Jesse would love us not showin' up for church," Jebb mumbled.

"Well then that just means that ya'll better get to talkin'." Cooter turned to head back into the bar as he heard singing from inside.

"Oh no! They've gotten the karaoke machine runnin' now." Kira gave a half hearted laugh. "I think we'd better run while we still can. I can hear Daisy and Darcy up on stage, now. No tellin' who's next."

"Come on." Jebb returned a weak smile as he nodded to Cooter who just smiled and tipped his hat as the couple headed back to the Stonewall, the blue Charger that Jebb had bought before the boys were born and had customized it much in the same way that Bo and Luke had done to the General Lee. "Cooter was right. We do need to talk."

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy and Darcy left the bar right in behind her cousins. The whole night that she'd been with Darcy, Daisy had gone over their relationship in her mind. She knew that, at least at one time, Darcy had planned to ask her to marry him. She couldn't understand why he still hadn't yet. Now that both of her cousins were married off, she had begun to feel that it was time that she should get married too. Daisy couldn't wait for her own wedding day.

Once at Darcy's, he showed Daisy all the attention that she'd missed while he'd been gone this week. Daisy was eager for every bit of it too. There was just something about Darcy that she couldn't get enough of. She also loved that fact that Darcy never just rolled over after a session of love-making; Darcy would pull her in close to him and hold her as she would fall asleep in his arms. Tonight as Daisy rested her head on his shoulder, she ran her fingers through Darcy's chest hair and couldn't sleep. Finally, Daisy breached the comfortable silence of the bedroom by asking a question that she really wanted to know.

"Darcy, can I ask ya something?"

"Sure ya can, Sugar. What's on your mind?" Darcy brought a hand up to brush some of Daisy's long dark hair out of her blue eyes so he could see them better in the darkened room.

"Do you love me?" Daisy asked even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer to the question.

"You know I do. Always have. I couldn't imagine life without ya in it," Darcy responded as he hugged Daisy just a bit tighter to him as he wondered what had spurred that question on.

"Then why haven't you asked me to marry you yet? I mean, I already know that you bought a ring a long time ago. You just ain't never asked."

_How did Daisy know that he bought her a ring already?_ Sitting up, Darcy ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to clear his mind of the cobwebs that had taken root while he'd been about to fall asleep next to the gorgeous woman that he'd been in love with since high school.

"I guess I've been too afraid to hear the word no to ask."

"What makes you think that I'd say no?"

"To be honest? Enos."

"Enos?" Daisy pulled the sheet up a bit as she sat up and gave Darcy a questioning look. What did Enos have to do with their relationship? "Honey, I don't understand."

"Shortly after I bought that ring, you and he were supposed to get married. If you were ready to wed him, then I just didn't think that you wanted to marry me."

"Darcy, I was going to marry Enos to help keep him out of jail. I didn't know any other way to help him. As long as I was married to him, I couldn't be called to testify against him when those crooks set him up for that bank robbery."

"And once he was free to go? If he hadn't called the weddin' off, would you have gone through with it?" Darcy could see Daisy bristle beside him. For more than three years he's had the same questions running through his mind anytime he had nearly gotten enough nerve to pull the ring that he'd bought her out of its hiding place. "I guess I felt that if you really wanted to get married to me then you wouldn't have even been able think about marrin' someone else."

"I see." Daisy sat stock still for a moment beside Darcy without her face betraying the thoughts or emotions rolling through her. She had wanted to help Enos and had offered to do the only thing that she knew would protect him from going away for something he'd never do if it weren't for the fact that he had been trying to protect her in the first place. How could Darcy really hold that against her?

"Sweetheart, if you are asking me if I want to marry you, there's no doubt whatsoever that I do. I just want to be sure that I'm really the one you want beforehand." Darcy stretched out an arm to pull Daisy closer to him only to have her shrug it off. "Days?"

Daisy moved to the side of the bed and started to hunt for her clothes that were strewn across the floor. "I think I'd better go. I have to be home by morning anyway for church. Otherwise my Uncle Jesse will kill me."

"Daisy, don't be mad."

"Why should I be mad? You just said that you don't believe me when I tell you that I want to get married to you."

"That isn't what I meant. I just told you why I haven't asked you to get married before now. I mean, you still date Enos for God's sake." Darcy was wise enough to not mention any of the other men that he knew that Daisy still dated off and on; particularly when he was out of town. He felt that the doubts about whether or not Daisy was ready to get married were reasonable. Standing up and blocking her way out of the room, he took her hands in his and waited for Daisy to look up at him. "I want to marry you, Days. I just want to make sure that you want to marry me."

Daisy gave a slight nod to which Darcy responded by releasing her hands and let her leave the room unimpeded.

During the whole drive out to Luke's farm Daisy couldn't help but fume as she thought back to Darcy's alluding to the fact that she didn't even know her own heart; much less her own mind. Why couldn't he have just asked her to marry him? Why did he have to question her about how she felt about him or even Enos for that matter? She was ready to be a wife and mother. She had thought that once she let Darcy know that she wanted to get married that it would have been a done deal. Now, she just wasn't sure what would happen.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jebb and Kira went on home and climbed the stairs and waved to Jesse as he poked his head out of his room when he heard them come in. Jesse had the bassinet in his room and he'd been able to listen for the twins from there as well since his room was directly under theirs.

Kira and Jebb headed on to their own room on the back side of the house upstairs. They'd started talking some in the car but they still were trying to put aside the fighting from the last twenty-four hours. Jebb went ahead and changed out from his clothes while Kira decided to go and check on the boys before turning in.

After seeing to the boys, Kira went into her and Jebb's bedroom still wondering whether or not she was in for a peaceful night or if she was about to walk into a hornet's nest when she opened the door. What she hadn't expected was for Jebb to shut the door behind her and pull her to him and start to kiss her without saying another word. It was a hot smoldering kiss that told Kira just how much he really had missed his wife. First while she was out of town, then while they'd been fighting when she'd come home after spending her weeks in Atlanta.

Jebb pulled Kira close to him and figured that there were no words that could do more for him than his hands and lips were right now as he started to guide his wife back toward the bed, spurred on by Kira's response to him as she wrapped her own arms around Jebb. They might not have settled everything between them, but she had missed this intimacy with her husband just as much as he did. Right now, it looked like she was way over-dressed considering that Jebb only had on his underwear. Of course Jebb was only too eager to help her peel her sweater off as she fell back onto the bed.

Unfortunately, just as her jeans were unfastened, a cry from downstairs could be heard as Faith woke up in Jesse's room. She was ready for her feeding and let the whole house know. That in turned woke Jay up down the hall. Hearing his son holler out Jebb cursed under his breath.

"I'll get him," Kira groaned.

"Nah. I'll go. I'll be right back."

That right back turned into more than a half hour since once Jay was awake, Mikey woke up too. That meant that Jebb had to convince both of his boys that it was the middle of the night and they both needed to go back to bed instead of play with their toys like they wanted to. Once he finally had the boys back in their crib and asleep, Jebb went back down the hall and hoped to pick things back up with Kira.

No such luck.

While she wasn't quite asleep yet, she wasn't completely awake either. Jebb climbed into bed beside his wife who then moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Jebb didn't know what was worse; sleeping beside his wife who was mad at him or sleeping beside her when he'd rather not be sleeping at all. Resigning himself to an unwanted restful night's sleep, Jebb pulled his wife closer to him and tried to fall off to sleep. All the while consoling himself that they still had one more night before she left for Atlanta thanks to the court hearing on Monday.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

The next day during church, Daisy couldn't concentrate on the sermon. She was still upset over Darcy's refusal of her. She couldn't remember the last time he or any man who mattered to her had done that. Why would he doubt her decision to get married? That's all that she's ever really wanted; to be a wife and mother and have a family all of her own.

_"I mean, you still date Enos for God's sake."_

So what if she still would go out with Enos from time to time. She liked knowing that he cared her so much and she'd always been very fond of Enos in return. Going out with him was always fun but she'd thought that Darcy understood her better than to consider him a real threat to their relationship. She really didn't think that Darcy had any reason to be worried about him. Yes she had at one time decided to marry Enos but that had been to protect him. She was as close to Enos as she could be to nearly anyone. Why shouldn't she have been willing to do anything that it would take to keep him safe from harm? Cops don't do well in jail and she wasn't about to let him go away for something that hadn't been his fault.

_"I want to marry you, Days. I just want to make sure that you want to marry me."_

Of course she wants to marry Darcy. She just didn't know how to convince him of that.

Letting her eyes wander the sanctuary as her mind continued to focus on her problem. When they fell on Enos, she swore that she'd caught him looking at her. He blushed and quickly looked away but not before Daisy gave him a smile. Every time she found him catching brief glances of her she felt just like she was back in school. She'd admit that she loved the feeling that she always got when he would stumble after she'd cast a look his way or gave him a wink. What woman wouldn't like knowing that a sweet man like Enos was so enamored with her?

Continuing with her viewing of the other church goers, Daisy spotted Patty Brigham and she could tell that the other woman was paying about as much attention to the minister as she was. From the way it looked, Patty was watching Enos from just two rows behind him. Thinking back to Friday night, Daisy now realized that it hadn't been her cousins that the woman had been watching, rather it had been Enos that she had followed out of the bar with her eyes.

Fighting back a giggle, Daisy would be willing to bet that Enos didn't have a clue that he'd caught the eye of the equally shy woman.

All around her, Daisy noticed that the rest of the congregation had bowed their heads in prayer so she supposed that the service was coming to an end. Daisy did her best to pay attention to the last bit of the service and was ready to jump out of the pew the moment that the preacher released everyone to leave.

When the family stood up, Daisy grabbed her purse and caught a glimpse of Kira as she reached out to hold on to the pew in front of her. For just a split second she thought her cousin was going to fall but Kira shook her head and reached for the twins' diaper bag and look toward her husband to see if he'd noticed her brief moment of unbalance. Clearly he hadn't since he was gathering up both of the boys who in only two weeks will be two year olds. But Daisy had. Before leaving the church Kira ducked into the bathroom so her cousin followed her in to check on her.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"Why do you ask?" Kira turned to Daisy just a bit impatient. She really needed to go to the restroom and if she didn't soon she felt like she was going to bust. Her bladder was so full it was painful.

"I saw that just a minute ago. You looked like you were about to take a header in there when you bent down to get the boys' bag. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, that." Kira groaned both with the knowledge that Daisy had seen her during her moment of vertigo and with the fact that if she didn't into the stall fast she was afraid she'd wet herself right then and there. "It's nothing, Days. That happens from time to time if I stand up too fast. Now if you don't mind…" Kira motioned toward the stall as she spoke.

"If you're sure that you're alright." She knew that her cousin still had some holdovers from her pregnancy that had left longterm effects on Kira's health. Many of which still required regular monitoring. Daisy nodded in understanding but made a mental note to keep an eye on her cousin just in case she had more instances of vertigo. If she'd been holding one of the twins she could have dropped them. "I'll go help Jebb put the boys in the car for you then."

"Thanks." Kira jumped into the stall as soon as Daisy left.

In the last week or two she hadn't been able to go more than an hour, two at most, between bathroom breaks. Today she didn't think that the minister was ever going to shut up. If the sermon had lasted another five minutes she was going to have to stand up right in the middle of it. Her days in court were becoming even more miserable since breaks were few and far between. And she was only in the jury selection portion of the trial. She had no idea how she was to survive the rest of it.

* * *

~01~

* * *

After lunch, Daisy was doing dishes as the rest of the family sat around the kitchen table while discussing the court date the next morning. Kira was explaining that at the minimum, if the judge decided to lock the fellas up, they would be in jail until just after Christmas. If the judge decided to play hardball they could expect up to a full year. That, of course, was the worst case scenario. Bo was holding out for a simple fine but Luke knew that realistically they both could expect at least a short stay in the local jail.

Hearing a car, Daisy looked out the window and saw Darcy pull up just outside her cousin's farmhouse that she'd been living at for just over a month. Ever since the old family farmhouse had been destroyed by a tornado. Grinning, Daisy just knew that Darcy had come to apologize to her about what he'd said about doubting that she wanted to marry him.

"Ya'll, I'll be right back." Daisy dried her hands, grabbed her coat and was out of the back door before anyone could ask her what she meant. She walked out to meet Darcy as he climbed out of his old sedan. She wanted to reach out and hug him to show him how glad she was that he'd come to his senses but instead she put her hands on her hips and waited for him to be the first to speak.

"Daisy, we need to talk." Darcy glanced toward the farmhouse and saw Luke watching him and Daisy. "Could we get in the car?"

Talking could be good. She just hoped that the fact that he wanted to talk to her alone meant that he was finally ready to ask her to marry him. Nodding, Daisy waited for Darcy to open her car door up and got inside.

Darcy then drove them away from the farm while trying to figure out just how to start this conversation so that it would go any better than the last one. Once they were away from the farm, he steered the car toward a small, intimate, private area at the pond that was usually too far off the beaten path for most others in town to go to; especially in the dead of December. After they were parked, Darcy turned to face the woman that he'd been waiting on since his voice had first began to crack.

"Daisy, I wanted to talk about last night."

"I know that I shouldn't have just sprung that out of nowhere on you, Darcy. Like you said, I know that you love me and you even said that you wanted to marry me."

"Yes, I do. Like I said last night, I just want to make sure that you want to marry me, too. After all, it just seems that you're always fightin' off attention from other men. Maybe you like all of them askin' ya out all of the time. That you like bein' able to go out with Enos or any of the other guys around town."

"I may like some of the attention that I get from folks, but I don't go home with any of them," Daisy lightly pushed on his shoulder as she spoke. "Besides, I can't remember the last time I went out with anyone else-"

"It was two weeks ago. You went out with Enos only two weeks ago," Darcy interrupted as he thought back to the weekend after Thanksgiving. He'd been able to get his later flights covered and had hoped to surprise Daisy since he'd never been able to attend the holiday festival with her. To his surprise, when he'd gotten there he found Daisy was there with his longtime rival.

"What? I didn't go out on a date with Enos two weeks ago!"

"You attended the festival with him, Days."

"That wasn't a date," Daisy said matter-of-factly. "We just rode a few rides together. That's all."

"Are you sure that he knew that?"

"What does it matter, Darcy?"

"It matters because we're talkin' about marriage. Most men don't tend to like their fiancées or wives goin' off with other men. Whether it be just to ride the ferris wheel or it be for a night out on the town. If you still want to go out with other men, then it'd mean that you aren't ready to get married. At least to me. I guess I just want to know that I'll be enough for you."

Daisy's first instinct was to get offended at the very idea that she should forgo any association with men like Enos just to prove that she was ready to get married. Before she could react to that instinct, however, Daisy was hit by something else. Darcy wasn't jealous, he was insecure. If he'd been jealous then he wouldn't have waited so long to bring up her frequent excursions with her oldest friend. No, Darcy was afraid that she still planned to cast him aside and trade him in for Enos. He didn't see that she loved Enos like a friend or a cousin; a brother even. Yes he was good to have around for her ego and she was very fond of him but that wasn't the same as loving someone enough to want to start a family with them.

She wondered how she could convince him of that. Would he always fear Enos and what he could be for Daisy had life worked out differently? Or would he finally see that the other man wasn't really a threat to his and Daisy's relationship? Would it help if Enos found someone of his own?

Daisy took both of Darcy's hands in hers and looked deep into his eyes as she gave him her most brilliant smiles. "Honey, if you'll marry me, I promise you that you'll be more than enough."

Taking a deep breath, Darcy returned her smile. "That's all I wanted to hear." He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the ring that had been sitting on his mantle tucked away inside one of his model airplanes. "Now I believe I have something that belongs to you."

Daisy leaned forward to hug and kiss Darcy in response to seeing the golden band for the first time out of its small cage. After he put the ring on her finger she swore that it'd never come off again.

"Come on," Daisy pulled back just enough to give Darcy room to crank the car back up as she spoke. "Now let's head back to the farm to tell everyone."

* * *

~01~

* * *

"So Daisy, have ya thought about when you want to plan your weddin'?" Kira asked.

"I've always wanted a June wedding," Daisy said grinning. "But I don't know if I want to wait that long."

"What about you, Darcy? You have any suggestions?" Jesse asked since he was wondering just what Darcy would want when it came to the wedding date.

"June sounds about right. No offense to the others, but I've never been keen on fast engagements. Trying to get all that plannin' done in such a short amount of time gets kind of hectic. I'd prefer to take it slower and enjoy it all, instead."

"Now there's a thought. I don't know of many men that actually look forward to a long engagement," Jesse chuckled. At least he could take comfort in the knowledge that his baby girl was marrying for love. Not because she had to. Daisy and Darcy were planning a summer wedding.

"Take my advice, don't plan the wedding too far out," Luke said as he remembered just how much of a toll his and Jo's engagement had taken on him.

"Luke, you are the one who picked out the date. You wanted a date that you couldn't forget. Besides, we still only had a short engagement of two and a half months. It wasn't that long," Jo teased since Luke had been the one that had suggested that they should get married on Valentine's Day.

"I think that just means that his ass is dead the first time he forgets his anniversary," Jebb said, fully knowing that he was the next one in line when it came to being in deep shit the first time a gift didn't get bought for an anniversary. Of course he'd already figured out that all he had to do was make sure he bought two presents when he went Christmas shopping since he and Kira had gotten married the day after Christmas three years ago.

"You should talk, Jebb," Daisy laughed.

"So is this a Duke tradition, now? All you fellas chose a holiday to get married on," Darcy asked.

"Shoot, it doesn't stop there," Bo joked. "These little guys even took over New Year's and New Year's Eve for their birthdays. They get fireworks for their birthday every year," Bo reached over and ruffled one of the twin's hair as he spoke.

"This is a very festive family," Kira joked from between her sons. "Everyone really likes to have an excuse to celebrate," Kira said as she let Mikey out of his high chair since he was finished eating and was ready to run around again. "So June, huh? This doesn't mean that I have to wear another pink dress, does it?"

"You better hope I don't find a brightly colored pink dress with flowers and bows and ribbons all over the place," Daisy smiled an evil grin.

"Oh great," Kira groaned.

"I don't see why you hate pink so much anyway," Daisy smirked.

Not wanting to bring down the rest of the family with the real reason for her distaste for the color she opted for one that she figured that the others would buy without questioning too much. "Daisy, look at me. I'm a red head with skin so pale that even ivory tinted powder is too dark for me to wear. Every time I wear pink I look like I've just spent the whole day out in the sun. And unlike you and the rest of the family, I don't tan."

"You just never let yourself build up a tolerance to the sun," Bo threw in. Bo was very aware of the fact that his sister was the only pale skinned Duke. Heck, the first time he saw her in the flesh, he was certain that he was looking at a ghost.

"Right, I just love getting sun burned," Kira said sourly. Not to mention she didn't need to expose herself too much to the sun since she was already predisposed to cancer.

"Alright, so other than the fact that you already have one bride's maid that will hate her dress and you haven't even picked it out yet," Kim interrupted. "Do you have anything else in mind?"

"Not yet. I haven't sat down and really started planning yet," Daisy said as her male cousins all exchanged looks and rolled their eyes. Daisy had been planning her wedding day since before she'd started elementary school. She had plans alright. She'll just tell everyone a few details at a time.

It has only been a few weeks since Kim and Bo had gotten married; now the Duke family could look forward to at least another six months of wedding planning ahead of them. This time with Daisy being the one who will be carrying the bouquet.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Hours later, Daisy headed up to her room that she'd been staying in at Luke's farm since the tornado ripped through the old family farmhouse a month prior. She was floating on air at the knowledge that at longlast she was finally planning her very own wedding. And this time it wasn't like any of the other times in her life where she was dreaming of what she would want if she was going to get married. This time was for real.

Down the hall, Faith could be heard crying and Daisy could tell that Luke had gone in to tend to her while Jo was getting ready for bed. There was no doubt in her mind, Daisy wanted lots of kids. She couldn't wait until she could hold her own baby in her arms.

Lying down on her bed, Daisy rolled onto her side and stared out of her window as she tried to picture what hers and Darcy's baby would look like. Smiling, she started to drift off to sleep. She was nearly completely out when she was struck by a sudden thought. She should have had her period already this month. She should have had it late last week, this past weekend at the latest.

With her eyes popping open as wide as they could go, Daisy started to finger her new ring on her left hand. She then wondered if she had as much time as she had thought before she and Darcy started their own family.

Making a mental note, Daisy knew that she'd have to go to the drugstore and buy a pregnancy test this week. At least she and Darcy were already engaged. That meant that no one could accuse her of trapping Darcy into marriage by getting pregnant. Still, she hadn't planned on already being in the family way as she walked down the aisle. Not to mention, that if she was pregnant already, getting married in June was definitely out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

The next morning, Jebb and Kira laid in bed together right up until the absolutely had to get up to get the boys ready for the day. The fact that Kira also had to be ready for court by eight in the morning didn't help with the morning routine. Fortunately for her, Jesse helped with dressing and feeding Mikey which was just fine by her. The mere sight of food was enough to make her gag.

For the last two weeks, Kira had noticed that she'd been feeling sick to her stomach a lot lately, especially when she first woke up. She'd tried to chalk it up to just being under more stress than usual since she'd taken on a few cases up in Atlanta but a nagging part of her wondered if the nausea was a sign that she shouldn't wait another month to see her specialists that had become a normal part of her life; having to be seen by them twice a year after she'd given birth to the boys.

Kira tried to ignore the churning in her stomach but when she finally forced herself to sit with the rest of the family to eat some breakfast before they all were to leave out for court she finally lost the battle. As the bacon and eggs were put on the table for the family Kira choked back what was left of her supper the night before and jumped up to head toward the downstairs bathroom since she knew that she'd never make it up the stairs.

Kira wasn't surprised when her husband came knocking at the door just as soon as she finished getting sick in the toilet. Not being able to gather enough strength to turn around and let him in, she just called out to tell him that the door was unlocked as she leaned back against the tub with her eyes closed.

"You alright?" Jebb asked as he went over and sat on the edge of the tub. Kira nodded her head but didn't look up. He reached around to move Kira's hair that was pooled around her away from her face. She'd gone back to letting her hair grow out after the boys were born so it was once again so long that it brushed her thighs when she walked. "Why didn't you tell me that you've been sick?" Jebb asked.

"This is the first time I've actually thrown up. I've been feeling a bit off for a few days, though. It'd just figure that this would happen this morning," Kira mumbled, all the while trying to rein in her rebelling stomach.

"I think we'd best call one of the doctors to come check ya out." Jebb never liked seeing Kira sick but she was right, this couldn't have come at a worse time. At least knowing that she's been fighting off whatever this illness is for a couple of days made her unusual moodiness make sense. "In the meantime, why don't you hea-"

"We don't have time for that. We have to be out of here in just under a half hour. Besides, now that I've gotten everything up, I'm startin' to feel a little better. Not to mention, the nausea has been easing up by mid-morning anyway. I'll be alright. Once I get to Atlanta I promise get as much rest as I can."

"Kira, I don't really think that you should go while you're sick."

"I don't really have much of a choice, now do I? I've already lost today in court and I really can't afford to miss another day. Not to mention, I'd be found in contempt of court if I don't show."

"Right, I forgot about that." Jebb continued to smooth Kira's hair as he thought about what he could do to help ease things for his wife. "I could pack the boys up and we could head out with you."

"And with you gone, who's goin' to take care of the farms?"

Kira really didn't want to talk right now since it was taking all of her concentration with keeping the remaining contents in her stomach down but she knew that Jebb wasn't thinking of the fact that Bo and Luke were likely to be spending the next week or so behind bars. With both theirs and Luke's farm chores to tend to, not to mention the building over at the other farm that will have to continue in some way regardless of the other men's sentences, there was more than enough work that would have to be done.

"Bo and Lu- You really don't think that they're comin' home today?"

Kira shook her head no. She'd tried to prepare the rest of the family yesterday while they discussed the court date over lunch but were distracted by Daisy and Darcy's wedding announcement. What she didn't tell them was that Judge Walker had the reputation of being a hanging judge. He had a no nonsense method to his sentencing that most of the other judges that worked the Hazzard circuit didn't have. Walker had the tendency to go a bit more heavy-handed than any of the others.

"Great." Jebb grimaced since he had to acknowledge the fact that he would be needed in Hazzard if his cousins did end up with a sentence of jail time rather than a fine. That meant that his wife would be heading back to the big city alone and apparently sick. Something that he really didn't like at all.

"We'd better get back in the kitchen. The boys are probably given Jesse a fit by now."

Kira wobbly got to her feet and washed her face to try to clean up a bit before rejoining the rest of the household. She could see the wheels in Jebb's head working overtime with trying to figure out how he could take care of the farm and her at the same time but this was just one time that he'd have to admit that he couldn't do everything. She was a big girl and knew how to take care of herself. Jebb would just have to deal with the less than ideal situation on the farm.

~01~

Daisy woke up and shocked herself at the fact that she had stayed in bed so late. She had planned to go to the courthouse with the rest of the family but by the time she woke up she could hear the Mustang pulling out of the driveway. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get up and get ready for the day and catch up with the rest of the family before they saw the judge, Daisy went ahead and took her time getting dressed. As she did so, she kept looking at her ring that she'd been waiting on for a long time.

Once downstairs, she ate the breakfast that Jo must have left for her before hopping into her Jeep to head over to the next county. Living in a small town, though, Daisy wasn't about to go to the pharmacy in Hazzard to buy the pregnancy test so she headed to the one in Chickasaw County instead. She rarely went to Sheriff Little's county so she doubted that word would spread as quick that an unmarried Daisy Duke bought a pregnancy test if she went there instead. There was just too big of a chance that one of her friends would spot her if she went to Capital City.

Daisy figured that since Darcy wouldn't be home for a couple of hours, it would be best if she went to his house to take the tests. No sense in having everyone at the farm guessing what she suspects before she had even taken the tests.

She was so nervous but she wasn't sure if she was hoping for a positive or a negative result.

~01~

Jesse stood on the courthouse steps as he watched both of his boys pull up separately with each of their wives in tow. As Luke and Jo got out of their Mustang, Jesse watched his nephew hand the keys to his wife which showed him that Luke was well aware of the probability that he wouldn't be going home at the end of the day. Luke then unbuckled Faith's car seat and carried her with him as he and Jo joined the rest of the family.

"Morning, Luke!" Jesse called out to his oldest. "Kira went on in and is talkin' to the A.D.A right now. She's goin' to see if she can get the charges reduced."

"I hope Old Man Copley agrees. Of course no matter what, Walker has to approve whatever deal Kira works out," Luke said a bit pessimistically.

"Copley'll go for it. You know he will," Bo said as he started to walk toward the courthouse stairs with his arm around Kim.

She'd leave out for the clinic right after they were done inside but he and Kim had plans to go car shopping after lunch. Her Jeep had been destroyed last month in the tornado but it had taken the whole month to get her check from the insurance company so she could replace it. Kim didn't really care much about what she got to drive but Bo did; which is why she figured that she might as well as let him be the one to pick it out. Kim knew that Bo would have a hay day car shopping. In fact, she wasn't sure if she even needed to go at all. She was certain that once they got out to the car lot, Bo was bound to zone out and focus only on what had four tires and a motor.

When the family all went inside, Kira walked over to where they could wait for the Judge to come out. She told them that Copley had agreed to two things. One, he'd lowered the charges to Simple Assault. Two, he wasn't going to oppose a request for a continuance. That way, hopefully, they could wait until after Christmas for the hearing.

"If we're lucky, we'll even pull a different judge to hear the case if the continuance is granted," Kira said as she closed her eyes while trying to ease the queasiness that she still felt in her stomach.

"Here's to hopin' that everything works out alright," Jesse said. He really couldn't say much more than that since Judge Walker chose that moment to walk into the courtroom. Everyone stood up and waited for the Judge to take his seat before they all sat back down.

"First and foremost, I see that a motion has been filed to request a continuance in this matter. I've read the motion and I find that considering that we're all here and ready to proceed, a continuance would be a waste of the court's time," Judge Walker said as he moved various papers around on his desk. Luke closed his eyes briefly to brace himself for what he was certain was coming. "Now, it is my understanding that the people and the attorney for the defendants have reached a deal in regards to these charges. Is that correct?"

"Yes, your honor," both Kira and Mr. Copley said in response to the judge's question.

"I see. I've read the affidavits from all persons involved in the altercation from over the weekend," Judge Walker said as he eyed the late-comer to his courtroom. "But I've also taken the liberty to read the on-going file on these two that has been accumulating since before the law could legally lock them up. Therefore, I will not be approving the defense's deal."

"Your honor, with all due respect, past deeds and behaviors should have no bearing on this case," Kira spoke up. If Walker held past crimes against her brother and cousin, there was no way that they'd be home for Christmas.

"I disagree. Perhaps if other judges had not coddled your clients, then just maybe they would not be standing in my courtroom today for behaving as if they were still kids in school." As the judge spoke, Luke knew that he wouldn't be going home before the end of this year, bare minimum. Beside him, Bo was standing there trying to take in just what the judge was saying. Now he didn't feel very optimistically anymore, either. "Now, I could give both of you a nice long stay at our local accommodations, but seeing as how it is the holiday season, I'll be generous and only give you fifteen days in lock up. The next time you stand before me, however, I can promise you that I will give you the maximum that the law allows."

"Fifteen days! You can't be serious!" Bo shouted out-loud. With today being the sixteenth, that meant that he and Luke wouldn't get out until the thirty-first. Not only would they not be going home today, but they'll miss Christmas with their families.

"For that outburst, you get another ten days for contempt," Judge Walker said as he pounded his gavel.

Luke had his mouth open and was about to speak up on his cousin's behalf but came up short when he heard Faith sneeze from her place in Jo's arms on the bench right behind him. That slight sound from his baby girl was enough to remind him of his resolve to spend as little time in jail as possible now that he had someone other than himself to worry about when he ended up in behind bars.

"Twen-" Bo was cut off by his cousin elbowing him in his ribs as he tried to warn him to stay quiet.

"Would you like to try for thirty?" Walker bellowed from his position behind his desk. Bo instantly realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut as he shook his head no. "Good. Now anything else that either of you have to say, I'd suggest that you say it through your attorney."

Bo silently swore but knew it'd be best to not say anything else.

"Your honor, I apologize for my client's temporary lapse in judgment. But I find that the sentence is just a bit harsh given the offense_. _Both men have family obligations to attend to and-_"_

"If your clients would have waited for me to complete my sentencing, they would have benefited from my taking that into consideration. As it is now, any thoughts of suspending the sentences are now out of the question," Judge Walker said gruffly. "Now, the defendants will be taken into custody by the Hazzard County Sheriff's Department. That is unless either of you would like to earn anymore time as wards of the state," Judge Walker said as he eyed the fellas. "No? Good. Sheriff, if you would take these two on downstairs."

Bo was dumbfounded that the judge was locking them up over the holidays. Jesse reached from behind them to hug both of his nephews and took the keys to the General from Bo. The men hugged their wives and were led away by Rosco down to the lower jail cells.

~01~

Jo had wanted to go down and see Luke but Jesse told both her that just wasn't going to happen until at least lunch. Instead, he started to herd his family on out of the courthouse. He walked up to Kira and put an arm around her shoulders as he walked her over to her motorcycle with its street tires on it.

"I tried, Uncle Jesse. It doesn't look like it's goin' to be a very Merry Christmas this year. Not with both boys behind bars."

"It ain't your fault. You did your best. Now, don't go blamin' yourself just because them boys ain't learned not to trade punches in the bar. Are you goin' back to the farm before drivin' out?" Jesse asked in concern.

After seeing Kira getting sick over breakfast, he was concerned for her heading out all alone. He'd held out hope that the judge would be lenient but now he knew that Jebb would remain the only Duke Boy in Hazzard that would be free for the next fifteen days. That meant that even if Jebb wanted to go to the big city with his wife, he'd feel too obligated to remain behind to do so.

At least he had the solace of knowing that Luke had enough sense to not join his cousin in his verbal outburst. Bo will be spending an extra ten days in lock-up on his own.

"I'm not sure if I should. The twins will probably get really worked up if I go home for just a little while. Then Jebb will be stuck calming them down again. Not to mention I need to see what all I've missed in Atlanta today," Kira said as she put her helmet on. She knew that both the car and truck would be needed at the farm so she was riding out on her bike. Besides, it wasn't like she had luggage to worry about. Kira had taken everything that she'd need the first trip out. "I think it'd be best if I just headed on out now."

"You make sure you call as soon as you get back to the hotel and take it easy while you're out of town," Jesse told his niece as she climbed onto her green cycle.

Ordinarily, Jesse didn't worry too much when one of his charges got sick. Kira, she was a bit different. She'd hate for anyone to consider her as being sickly, but between the cancer that she's had to fight off twice, not to mention the heart problems that were holdovers from her bout with pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy, Jesse couldn't help but eye her just a bit more closely than he would the others when they got sick.

Knowing that there was nothing that he could do for his niece nor his boys right now, Jesse headed toward his truck to drive on out to the farm. One thing was for sure. With Bo and Luke locked up, getting a decent start on rebuilding the farmhouse may have to wait a while.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy stared at the test that had turned blue; blue meaning that she was, without a doubt, pregnant. On one hand she was ecstatic since she'd wanted her own baby for years. On the other hand, she was a bit apprehensive of just how Darcy might take the news. Then of course, there was the rest of the family.

With it being the sixteenth, Daisy tried to figure up in her head just how far along she was. She must have gotten pregnant just around Thanksgiving. That would put her due date somewhere in August.

Staring out of the window, Daisy's mind began to work on just how she planned to tell Darcy about the baby. After waiting to get married and have a baby of her own, she couldn't believe that she'd gotten both of them in less than one day. Yesterday she'd finally gotten Darcy to agree to marry her and today she's learned that she's going to be a mother. The only thing that could make all of it better was if she could make sure that she was married before anyone else found out about her pregnancy. Well, anyone but Darcy of course.

Smiling, Daisy opened the door and figured that she'd best get started with getting things together for when she'd tell her future husband that they already had a baby on the way. She already had a plan forming in her mind.

**~01~**

Jebb watched the boys running from the dining room and into the family room with more energy than he could ever remember having. As the twins screamed and squealed during yet another pass through, he grabbed the phone. In the meantime, he reminded himself that he should really bundle the kids up and let them run around outside to use up some of that extra energy.

Waiting for someone to pick up the other end of the line, Jebb lifted the cord from the phone as Mikey started to circle around his legs. Just as he heard his mother answer the phone, Jay joined his brother as he raced around their father.

_"What in the world?"_

"Sorry, Mom. The boys have had a bit of cabin fever with the cold weather and all. I was just about to take them out in just a little while."

_"It sounds like you need a leash for them boys. So tell me, what do I owe this phone call to? And you better not be calling to tell me that you and Kira aren't coming up for Christmas."_

"No, that's not why I'm callin', though it does concern Kira. I was wonderin' if you'd do me a favor."

_"Kira? A favor?"_

"Yeh, look, she headed back to Atlanta this mornin' but she's been a little under the weather. I was hopin' that you could maybe go and check on her this week."

_"Oh course I'll go and check on her. I still say that there was no reason for her to be stayin' in the city by herself, no how. Not with family so close by. She should have taken us up on our offer to let her stay here while workin' in Atlanta."_

"Yeh, well…" Jebb didn't really share his mother's belief that Kira would have been better off in Placid for two months with his mother. Not with the fact that they had an uneasy truce between them; a truce that could only suffer from prolonged time alone together. "Anyway, I was just wantin' you to go and check on her. She didn't look to well this morning."

_"I'll go and see her this afternoon. Maybe even bring her home for a nice, home-cooked meal."_

"Thanks, Mom." Knowing that his mother would check in on his wife made him feel a little bit better. She may not like him checking up on her in this way but Kira will get over it. He hoped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

As Jo and Kim left the courthouse, Jo eyed her friend. She remembered how scared she'd been to stay out at the cabin by herself on Friday night. She really couldn't blame her considering the nightmare that she'd lived through with her ex-husband. Now Kim had twenty-five days to be out at the cabin by herself.

"You want to stay out at the house? Daisy has tonight off so we can stay up and have a girl's night in. That is if she doesn't head out to Darcy's for the night," Jo offered her friend.

"I'll have to learn to stay out at the cabin by myself eventually," Kim said softly. She didn't look forward sleeping alone, but she also didn't want to become dependent on the others every time Bo wasn't home.

"True, but it doesn't mean that you have to start tonight," Jo said as she slipped her arm through Kim's. "Come on, I'm even sure that Bo would feel better if you came out for at least a couple of nights."

"I suppose," Kim said. She knew that if she was honest with herself, she'd feel better about it too. "But I still can't get into the habit of staying at yours and Luke's every time Bo is locked up. I'm sure that Luke would find that old real fast to have a houseguest that often."

"Like he'd notice," Jo chuckled. "How often are one of those fellas behind bars without the other sitting right there beside them? I'm even surprised that he didn't end up getting those extra ten days when Bo got them."

"You have a point there. I can't remember the last time," Kim laughed, "Alright, girl's night then. Maybe we can help her plan her wedding. June is a long ways off. Do you really think that she and Darcy will stick to that as being when the wedding will be?"

"I don't see why not. Daisy is practically living over there at Darcy's already, now that she ain't living under the same roof as Jesse. I think she enjoyed seeing Luke's look of disapproval when she'd come stumbling in at breakfast on nights that Darcy was home in the last month," Jo chuckled. "I think Jesse was going to see the guys after he finished over at Cooter's. We'll let him know that you're coming home with me so he can pass it on to Bo."

~01~

Daisy pulled up at Cooter's for some gas before she planned to swing by the market. When Cooter came out of the garage to help her he filled her in on what she missed in court that morning.

"Uncle Jesse says that the judge gave them both fifteen days for the fight and gave Bo an extra ten days for contempt of court. He's lucky he didn't get more, though," Cooter walked around the Jeep to fill Daisy's tank up as he spoke. "That Judge Walker walked into the courtroom with a burr already in his saddle."

"Twenty-five days?" Daisy had begun to hope that she could convince everyone that she just couldn't wait until June and wanted to get married as fast as possible. With Bo in lock up until the second week of January, that definitely put a crimp in her plans. There was no way that she'd want to get married with only part of her family present but not the rest. Still if she waited that long, wouldn't she be starting to show by then?

"Yep. That's some way for old Bo to start off his married life, huh." Cooter chuckled just a bit. "Even I thought that he'd wait until he'd been married at least a month before ending up in Rosco's Iron Bar Hotel. Speakin' of married life, I heard that you have some news on that front, yourself. You and Darcy plannin' on getting' married in June?"

"That's the plan so far," Daisy said before adding, "Though to be honest, I've begun to rethink the whole long-engagement thing. I'd like to just go ahead and get married as soon as possible. There doesn't seem to be any reason to wait, really." _Not to mention there was a reason not to wait now,_ she thought to herself.

"I guess I could understand that. It never made much sense to me why some folks wait a year or more after they get engaged. It's like they ain't sure if they want to get married or not. Like the engagement is a trial run. Personally, if I ever decided to get married again, I'd likely be at the courthouse before the lady finished sayin' yes." Cooter then winked before adding, "Just to make sure she didn't change her mind."

Laughing, "A woman would have to be crazy to change her mind about you, Cooter."

"Maybe but I still think I'd rather not chance it. Of course you won't have that problem. Ain't no way Darcy will let you change your mind on him. He knows half the men in Hazzard would love to take his place."

"I'd certainly hope he knows that." Daisy graciously accepted the compliment as she looked toward the jail. "I think I'll go see the fellas to see if they need anything before I head back out to the farm. I'll catch you later, Coot."

~01~

Later in the evening in Atlanta, Kira felt just a touch better after she'd drunk some of the tea that her friend Brent had brought her after she'd told him that she was still feeling under the weather. She'd become friends with Brent long before she'd passed the bar, even before Brent was out. She'd even considered dating him, way back when. Looking at him now, she still thought that it was a shame that Brent was gay. He had the kind of looks that women would practically throw themselves at. In fact, she could remember Jebb acting a bit jealous of the relationship she had with the young cop before he learned that Kira wasn't Brent's type. Of course, she wasn't dating Jebb at the time so she hadn't felt that he had any right at the time to feel jealous. It was only after Jebb had learned that he was more Brent's type than Kira was that he slacked off on acting like he'd been bitten by the green-eyed monster any time she mentioned him.

Once Kira started dating Jebb, she still maintained a strong relationship with one of her few friends that she'd had before becoming a Duke. Now that she was spending so much time in Atlanta again, away from her family, spending her extra time with Brent had helped to lessen the loneliness. That was strange when Kira stopped to think about it; being alone never used to bother her all that much. Now after three years of being surrounded by her family, it felt odd to have so much time to herself. She guessed that if she ever had any doubt about how much she loved her life in Hazzard, they were gone now. She knew that once she made her last ride back to Hazzard at the end of January, she wasn't going to go anywhere without Jebb or the boys for a long time.

Kira greeted her friend and slipped her arm through his and stepped out of her room with him. They had plans to eat dinner at a restaurant that they had frequented when she lived here in Atlanta.

"Are you sure you should have come back to Atlanta if you think you're coming down with the flu? I mean, didn't you say that you were just dealing with jury selection this week? The trial won't even start until after the holidays. Couldn't you have Tom handle that for you?"

"Tom's busy in the middle of his own case. Besides, I seriously doubt it's really the flu. I've been a little sick, but I'm not running a fever. Besides, I've been fine by the time lunch comes around, at least on most days."

"So you've only really been sick in the morning?" Brent smirked, "It sounds an awful lot like morning sickness. You sure that you couldn't be pregnant? After all, you've been like this for the last week."

"Trust me, I can honestly say that I'm certain that I ain't pregnant," Kira laughed at the absurdity of the idea of her being pregnant again.

"What makes you so sure?" Brent asked amused.

"Because right after the boys were born, with the way I got so sick when I was pregnant, the heart and kidney damage that I suffered... Not to mention we were lucky that there wasn't anything majorly wrong with the boys simply because Jebb and I are cousins, Jebb saw to it to make sure that we didn't have any more kids."

"Are you saying that Jebb...can't have kids anymore?" Brent chuckled.

"That's exactly what I'm sayin'. So you see, I can't be pregnant," Kira said emphatically.

"Alright, alright. It just looked like the symptoms fit. So sue me for thinking that you and Jebb might be looking to fill that crib again that you said the boys are getting too big for," Brent said with his hands raised in surrender. "Come on, I'll take ya out to eat."

Kira left the hotel with her old friend as they headed out to dinner since she hadn't eaten since the breakfast that Jebb had forced on her before leaving Hazzard that morning. She hadn't wanted it and she swore that the food had made her more nauseous than if she had gone to court without anything on her stomach at all.

~01~

Pauline got out of her car and checked the paper that she'd written the name of the hotel that had told her that Kira was staying at. She hadn't expected an upscale hotel and a part of her wondered just how much a night in a place like it would cost. Her family in Placid had always had a bit more than most of the others in town but she couldn't imagine staying at the hotel across the street.

Pauline waited for the traffic to ease up enough to cross and saw her daughter-in-law coming out of the very hotel that she had been planning to go into. Only, she wasn't alone as one would expect. She was walking out arm in arm with a good-looking dark-haired man that she'd never seen before. Kira was laughing and joking with him and she looked far from being sick as Jebb had claimed when he'd called earlier.

Frowning, Pauline didn't like what she'd just stumbled upon. She'd come to the city to take care of an ailing family member and instead found that her son's wife was going out with another man.

~01~

Darcy walked into his house after a long day of flying the commuter route back and forth between Capital City and Atlanta. He walked into the kitchen and got a can of soup out of the cupboard and opened it for his supper and put it in a small pot on the stove to start warming up before he headed back toward the bathroom while he waited.

In the bathroom, Darcy was taking care of business when he looked down on the counter and saw a small vial of blue liquid. Curious, he tried to figure out what it was. Looking down into the small trash can beside the toilet, he spotted a box. Leaning over to pick it up, Darcy dropped it the moment he realized what it was. A box for a home pregnancy test. After the initial shock wore off, he picked it up again and turned the box around and began to read the instructions on the back. When he got to the part that explained the results, Darcy looked back to the blue vial on the counter.

"Pregnant?"

~01~

Daisy planned to go over to Darcy's after supper to talk to him about her test results but she had a little time to chat with her cousins' wives before she left.

"Alright, Days, what have you got planned so far?" Kim said as she tucked her feet under her as she sat on the couch. Jo had just finished feeding putting Faith and had joined the other Duke Women just as Kim started to pry any and all wedding plans out of the bride-to-be.

"Well, I like the idea of a small wedding with just the family. Of course that's no reason that I can't have a nice wedding dress; one with a long train and all." Actually, she'd always wanted a big church wedding with just about the whole town there but she knew that she was on bit of a time crunch now. She'd have to compromise on the kind of wedding she'd always wanted just as she'd had to compromise on the idea of having one in June.

"We'll have to go dress shopping after the holidays are over so we can see if there is anything that you like at the bridal shop," Jo said.

"How about that dress you saw last month when I was dress shopping. It wasn't my size but it looked like it would fit you perfectly," Kim said.

"The one with the huge train?" Daisy exclaimed, "I loved that one!"

"There haven't been any other weddings in town since Bo and I got married so it's probably still there," Kim grinned as she saw Daisy's face light up at the mere mention of the wedding dress that had caught her eye.

"Oh, I hope so. If not, I could always use Aunt Lavinia's dress; or I could just make one for myself. I planned to make the bride's maids' dresses anyway."

"I think you'll have a fight on your hands with Kira if you still plan to make her wear pink. I still can't believe she wore that dress for Kim and Bo's wedding." Jo laughed at the memory of Kira's face when they'd gone in to pick up their dresses for the last wedding less than a month earlier. She'd never considered pink to be her best color either but she'd thought that Kira's reaction to it to be a bit much.

"Me either. But did you notice that she intentionally let Mikey ruin it during the reception?" Daisy then moved in a bit closer to pretend to whisper to the other women as she added, "I guess she wanted to make sure she couldn't ever be conned into wearing it again."

Just then, from upstairs, Faith could be heard crying from the nursery. "That would be my cue that someone needs her diaper changed. I'll be right back." Jo headed on back upstairs to tend to her little girl.

Kim watched as Daisy stared after Jo as she left the room to tend to the infant. "You and Darcy talk about whether or not you'll start a family?"

"Well, we haven't talked about it since the engagement, but I definitely want to start one as soon as possible. I want a little girl of my own so much. "The first thing I plan to do when I get married is to toss my birth control pills out. That way, whatever happens, happens," Daisy said with a mischievous grin. The fact that she already had one on the way had her making plans for a nursery over at Darcy's. She already knew which room she wanted to transform for her baby who was on the way.

"I have the feeling that you'll be pregnant in no time with an attitude like that," Kim said as she shook her head. "Especially as fertile as this family seems to be. First Kira gets pregnant while she was on the pill, then Luke gets Jo pregnant on their honeymoon. And we already know that twins run in the family too. Plus, wasn't Jesse one of eight kids?"

"Yep, he was. And as far as twins, I wouldn't mind that."

"You wouldn't? I teased Luke that he was havin' multiples when Jo was pregnant and his face went so pale. I swear if I hadn't told him I was jokin' I might have seen him pass out. Which might have been fun to see."

"Who would have ever pictured Luke as the doting father and husband? I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself," Daisy giggled. "I just hope that Darcy will adjust to family life so easily."

"I'm pretty sure you can get him to do just about anything. And it's not like you're havin' a baby tomorrow, anyway. You'll have plenty of time to get ready for that stage in your life," Kim said just a bit envious since she knew that she couldn't look forward to making the same plans as Daisy was when it came to planning a family with Bo. It was a good thing that Bo was resigned to being the fun-loving uncle.

Kim's ex-husband had seen to it that she wouldn't be able to have any kids. He'd beaten her so badly when she was pregnant while they were married that the child that she was carrying didn't survive. It was then that she was told that she had so much scar tissue in her uterus that it would be nearly impossible for her to get pregnant again. And even if she did get pregnant, it would be even harder to carry another child to term.

Kim supposed that she should be satisfied with the life she had now. She never in a million years would have expected to find herself as happy as she was with Bo. Still, a part of herself couldn't help but wonder what a child with Bo would have looked like.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Pulling up outside of Darcy's house out on the outskirts of town, Daisy checked her makeup as she tried to figure out just how to tell Darcy that she was pregnant. It hadn't been something that she'd planned and right now she was really at a loss for words. She wasn't sorry for the unplanned pregnancy but it was certainly going to put a wrench in the plans that they'd already discussed. She got out of the Jeep and went on inside to find Darcy sitting on the couch staring at a box on the coffee table. It was a box that she'd forgotten when she left out earlier in the day.

Darcy looked up when Daisy walked in and after a brief moment of the two of them staring at one another he said, "I'm guessin' that you have something to tell me."

"This isn't exactly the way I'd hoped to tell you." Daisy went over to sit beside of Darcy on the couch. "I was wanting to really do this right. You know."

Looking away from the box that he'd been staring at since he'd gotten home, Darcy asked, "How long have you known?"

"I took the test this morning."

"Why? Why did you take it this morning?" If Darcy was honest with himself, a part of him wondered if the only reason that Daisy had asked him about why he asked him to marry her was the fact that she already knew that she was pregnant.

"After telling everyone about the engagement yesterday, I was thinking about how we were finally about to start a family of our own. I was nearly asleep when I realized that I was late this month."

One look at Daisy and Darcy knew that she was telling him the truth. The fact that she found out that she was pregnant the day after they got engaged was just a wild coincidence. One that if it had happened to someone else he'd never believe.

"So I guess this means June is out now." Darcy reached out and took Daisy's hand and lightly pulled her back to lean against him on the couch.

"You're not upset? I know that this is a little fast-" In her mind, she would have liked to have set the mood and get him ready for a nice, romantic evening in before telling him. Having him find the box for the pregnancy test wasn't something that she'd even entertained as a possible way to tell him that he was going to be a father.

"Upset? Honey, I could never be upset with you. Especially over something like this. I love you and can't wait to have a baby with you." Darcy leaned over and gave her a slow and sweet kiss that comforted Daisy. He then leaned back and lifted her chin before adding, "Your family, on the other hand, might not be so understanding."

Daisy groaned since she'd been so focused on telling Darcy that she hadn't even had time to think about how she could tell her uncle and cousins. "I forgot about them!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we should tell your family before we get married. The last thing that I'd want to do is to start off our marriage lying to them."

"It wouldn't really be lying if we just didn't tell them until we got married."

"No, but when we tell them that we want to get married about six months sooner than we told them just yesterday, they're bound to ask why."

"Yes, they are. And even if I tried to hide it, my Uncle Jesse would be able to tell that something is up anyway. I don't know how he's been able to do it but none of us have ever been able to hide a thing from him." Daisy grinned as she thought about her uncle and some of the things that she'd thought she'd gotten away with during her life only to learn that she hadn't gotten away with anything at all. "I suppose we should tell him in the mornin'. Then we'll have to go to the jail and tell Luke and Bo."

"At least they'll both be behind bars," Darcy joked. He knew that Luke was well aware of the fact that he'd been ready to marry his cousin but that didn't mean that he was ready to hear that Daisy had gotten pregnant before making it to the altar. Bo, on the other hand, likely would feel the urge to defend his cousin's honor the moment he heard about the pending birth. "I'll be safe from them until they get out, at least."

Daisy laughed at the image that popped into her head of Darcy standing back away from the bars as they planned to tell her cousins of the fact that she was expecting a small bundle of her own. "Well the good news is, I don't think that they'll want to leave me a widow to raise a kid all by myself."

"Gee, thanks." Darcy made a face as Daisy continued to giggle. "So I guess now we just have to figure out a new date for the wedding. And soon."

"Humm…" Daisy started to think over different possibilities. "Well, I wouldn't feel right not having my Uncle Jesse there with Bo and Luke so driving over to Chickamahoney tonight is out. But if we wait until Bo gets out of jail to get married I might be showing by then."

"Well the only way to avoid that is to get married down in the jail itself-"

"That's it!"

Darcy chuckled as he gave Daisy an amused look. "You want to get married in jail?"

"No, silly. The court-house. I'm sure that I could get Lulu to convince Boss to let Bo and Luke attend a wedding just up the stairs. It's not like he'd be settin' them free or nothin'. Then we wouldn't have to wait to get married."

Darcy thought over the idea of being married at the court-house. He didn't really care where they got married. He knew that the Duke family had a long history with the county jail so in a way it almost made a twisted kind of sense that a Duke wouldn't shun the idea of getting marred there.

"Alright. There's just one thing to work out."

"What's that?"

"With us getting married so soon after word's gotten out that we're engaged, folks are bound to talk. Are you ready for that?"

Daisy scrunched her brows as she considered what Darcy was saying. She knew that it wouldn't take long for folks to put two and two together but she should be able to avoid it at first, at least. "Not necessarily. Bo and Kim only had a two week engagement so it shouldn't be too bad if we had one about that long… Hey! I got it! What if we got married on New Year's?"

"New Year's?"

"A new year, I'll be a new bride and expectin' a new baby."

"And you'll be continuin' the tradition that your cousins started with gettin' married durin' a holiday. But doesn't your cousins' kids have New Year's covered?"

Smiling, "I'm sure they won't mind sharin' the day with their Aunt Daisy. So what do you think?"

Taking another look at the box on the coffee table, Darcy took a deep breath before saying, "So how should we tell your uncle and cousins?"

* * *

~01~

* * *

The next morning, Pauline stared out of the kitchen window as she washed the breakfast dishes the next morning. All she could think of was that her baby boy was going to be so crushed when she ended up telling him what she had seen yesterday. And she was going to have to tell him, too.

She hated that this was going to happen right at the holiday season. She really did. But the sooner that her boy knew that his wife was stepping out on him, the sooner he could get everything together and file for a divorce. A divorce. No one on either side of the family had ever gotten a divorce before. If only he hadn't of been so blind years ago when he married Kira. She'd tried to stop him. She did. But by the time she knew of the relationship between her son and niece, it had been too late.

"Something wrong? You look mad," John said as he walked by. He was heading out to check on the animals since he had a mare ready to foal at any time but the look in his wife's face stopped him dead in his tracks. He'd been on the receiving end of that look often enough over the years to know that she was boiling beneath the surface.

"I am mad. Would you like to know why I didn't bring Kira here last night after I drove all the way to the city to check on her after Jebb called and said that she was sick?"

"I just assumed that you either didn't find her or she preferred to stay in town," John said as smirked. He knew danged well that his wife and niece/daughter-in-law got along best when they were at least a four hour drive apart from one another.

"Oh I found her alright! And she was with another man, John! She's usin' her time away from Hazzard to cheat on our son!"

"Now Pauline, don't let your imagination get the better of you. You know as well as I do that them kids are crazy about one another. Wouldn't neither one of them do anything to hurt the other," Jebb's father said as he decided that he might as well pour himself a cup of coffee while he was talking to his wife.

"I know that Jebb is crazy for that girl, Lord knows why, but it looks like the feeling ain't mutual," Pauline shot back.

"Pauline, she was probably just talkin' to one of her colleagues. She wouldn't-"

"They were coming out of her hotel, John! What kind of business could they have been doing for court in a hotel?" Pauline said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. John tried to find a reply to that but he as much has he wanted to defend Kira to his wife, that didn't look good. "That's what I thought. That girl is steppin' out on Jebb and I plan to make sure he knows about it."

"Now Pauline, wait-"

"No, John. I have to look out for my baby. I have to call him and tell him that-"

"Even if, that's a big if; and I ain't sayin' that she is. But even if Kira is cheatin' on Jebb, you can't tell him something like that over the phone," John said. Personally, he'd like to talk to Kira himself before his wife called their son.

"Alright. I'll just ask him to come out to the house early this year for Christmas. Have him come to Placid this week instead of waiting for next week," Pauline said as she made her way to the phone. She wasn't about to just let this be. Not now.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jesse was outside watching the twins throwing some cracked corn out to the chickens in amusement. Mikey had a tendency to chase the hens as he threw the food at them while Jay did his best to throw the grain as far away from himself as he could since he was a bit timid around the chickens. As a result, the hens gathered around the younger, calmer, twin much more readily than the active and rambunctious older one.

As Jesse gathered the eggs from the hen house, Daisy's Jeep pulled up and he could tell that Darcy was riding shot-gun. Abandoning the corn and chickens in favor of his aunt, Jay ran over to greet her. In the process, getting himself picked up away from the greedy birds who had begun to peck at the food while it was still in his hands.

"Mornin', Little Jaybird." Daisy hugged the toddler to herself as she reminded herself that very soon she'll have a little one of her own. "Mornin', Mikey."

"Eh!" Mikey hollered back as he threw a handful of feed at the head of the nearest chicken.

"Daisy. Darcy. I wasn't expectin' to see you two this mornin'."

"My first flight isn't for another two hours and Daisy and I wanted to talk to you before I left out." Darcy ran a hand through his brown hair nervously. Now that he was actually faced to face with the man who had raised Daisy, he was a bit apprehensive of just how he was going to take the news that they had to give him.

"Is Jebb around?" Daisy secretly hoped that he wasn't since she figured that it'd be easier to break the news to her cousins once Jesse was on board with their plans for the bumped up wedding.

"Nope. We were out at the other farm and loaded up the last of the garbage from the wrecked house to haul off to the dump and he's drivin' it off now. Now with the last of the old farm house bein' carried off, we'll be ready to start markin' off for the new one. Hopefully we can have it up by the weddin'. That way we can have our first-"

"Actually, the weddin' is what we wanted to talk to you about." Daisy wrapped a hand around Jay's and noticed how cold it was so she rubbed it a little to warm it up and gave him a kiss before she said, "If you think the boys have had enough time outside, maybe we could head in to warm up a little."

"Yeh, it is a bit too cold to be out here for long with them." Jesse turned and called Mikey to join the rest of them inside. After he and Daisy unbundled the boys and set them loose in the living room to play with some of their toys the adults all gathered around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. "So what's this about the weddin'? You two have some plans already made?"

"Actually, we do," Daisy leaned forward with excitement clearly showing on her face. "We've decided to move the wedding up just a bit."

Jesse's curiosity was now piqued. "Just how much is a bit?"

"New Year's."

"New Year's?! Why in the world would you want to move it up that soon? Both of the boys won't even be out of jail by then. Not to mention, that is only two weeks away and-" Jesse came up short as he saw a look exchanged between the engaged couple. "Daisy, you wouldn't happen to have another little bit of news for me?"

"We just found out yesterday." Darcy nodded and answered for his soon-to-be wife. "As for Bo still bein' in lock up-"

"I figured that we could get married at the court house and Boss shouldn't be able to say anything about not lettin' him come to the weddin' since the jail is still right there in the same buildin'," Daisy finished for him.

Jesse leaned back in his chair as he sipped his coffee while taking in the news. He let the couple in front of him sweat for just a moment while he mulled over it all. He then put his coffee back down while keeping a stern and impassive look on his face for just a second longer before he gave his girl a smile. What's done is done and he believed them when they said that neither had known of the upcoming birth when they'd gotten engaged since if they had June would have never had been in the plans.

"Well, it looks like we have ourselves a lot of plannin' to do and not a lot of time to do it in."

* * *

~01~

* * *

Luke stared at the ceiling as he waited for Jo and Faith to show up for their daily allotted amount of time for a visit. A strong part of himself wished that his little girl would never have to see him locked away behind these bars but another part, a more selfish part, couldn't bear to miss a single day of her life. She was just a little over a month old and she was already growing so fast. Plus, if he was forced to admit it, he was afraid that Faith would forget him if she didn't see him every day.

One thing that Luke didn't look forward to, it was his father-in-law learning that he was once more behind bars. Much like he was the first time that General Hart and he met. Of course he and the general were on much better terms than they had been just a little over a year ago but he had to figure that finding Luke down here in the jail when he arrives for Christmas would be a disappointment to him to say the least. Fortunately, he'll be out of jail before Thomas was scheduled to return to Washington D.C.

Thanks to Luke's ability to keep his mouth shut in court, he'll be walking out of the courthouse on New Year's Eve to at least try to salvage the last of the holiday season with his wife. The price for that luxury, of course, was that he'll be leaving his cousin to serve the remaining ten days behind bars alone.

In the next cell, Bo was flipping through a car magazine that Kim had brought by to help pass the time. He was still upset over the fact that the judge had been so harsh. Here he was, stuck in a jail cell over his first Christmas and New Year's as a married man. Kim was taking it in stride but he knew that she was disappointed. Who wouldn't be?

Kim reminded him, though, that she had been well aware of what she was getting into when she'd married him. Even her uncle, Doctor Irving Appleby, had stopped by the day before after he'd learned of the judge's ruling. They'd both tried to raise his spirits about missing out on the holidays at home but Bo really wasn't ready to be cheered up just yet. The worst part of the whole thing, Bo knew that if he had to trace the blame back to the source, he had to accept a great deal of responsibility. Though the largest portion of that blame had to go to Ernie Leadbetter.

Hearing steps on the metal staircase, Bo looked up to see his cousin's wife and daughter coming down to visit Luke. He watched his cousin move to the front of the cell and greet Jo and fawn over Faith as much as he could through the bars. Especially when it appeared that Faith smiled at him as her mother held her up for Luke.

Bo tried his best to give the small family as much privacy as possible considering that he was less than ten feet away. In the meantime he scanned through the classified section of his magazines. It wasn't exactly how he'd hoped to start looking for a car for Kim to replace her totaled Jeep but it would have to do until he was released on the tenth of January. So far, he'd only seen cars that he knew for certain that he'd never trust to drive his wife around in. Not a single car showed any promise. He just hoped that when he got out of jail he'd have better luck.

On the other side of the jail, Enos reluctantly told Jo that her time was up; she and the little girl would have to go. Luke did his best to kiss both of his visitors goodbye. Bo casually bade them farewell as well and began to wait for his own wife to stroll down the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

Kim convinced Enos to let her see Bo before she went to the clinic but it hadn't been enough. She felt lonesome for him already. She'll have to remember this the next time she's around and Ernie starts pushing Bo's buttons. She'd rather listen to Ernie's fowl mouth than do this again.

Kim went to her office and flipped through the records for the patients that she had for the day. It looked like most folks didn't like going to the doctor around the holidays. There were very few appointments today, just one or two follow-up visits. Of course she could expect a lot of requests for a house call though. Not that she minded. If folks caught the flu, she'd just assume that they stay home and not get the rest of the town sick as well.

Pulling herself out of her own thoughts, Kim settled in behind her desk and took out the birth control pills that she kept in her desk. She didn't need them to prevent pregnancy. Instead, she used them to make sure that her cycle was regular. Once Ted had caused all of the damage that he'd done which had left her unable to conceive, she'd become very irregular so she found that it was best to take the pills. Still, after the discussion that she'd had with Daisy last night, taking the pills seemed like a cruel joke. A joke that Ted seemed to have gotten the last laugh on.

Shaking her head, Kim knew that thinking along these lines wouldn't help her.

The phone rang so Kim picked it up since Sue was late to work this morning. Mrs. Miller was sick and Kim told her that she'd be out to check on her just as soon as her appointments showed up. If it was anything serious, Kim would have to bring her to the clinic. She was an old widow with no kids to take care of her. Kim went ahead and prepared a room up above the clinic for the possibility of having a patient spending a few days in town. In fact, she went ahead and got a room ready for herself, too. If Mrs. Miller needed to come to town, she'd be staying with her.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Discussion of wedding plans ran longer than they'd originally planned so Darcy was forced to jet off to the airport rather than heading to town to join his fiancée in telling her cousins of the change in plans as well as the impending birth. He hadn't wanted to send Daisy off on her own but Jesse had assured him that he'd handle the cousins.

Daisy and Jesse hopped out of the Jeep outside of the courthouse just before lunch. Daisy hoped that everything went well with her two jailed cousins since she knew that if she could handle them, her other cousins would be simple to deal with. The two Dukes headed inside as Daisy saw Enos bashfully slip into his patrol car across the street. She knew that she needed to talk to him about her pending marriage but it appeared that she wouldn't be doing it right now. Making a mental note to herself, she promised herself that she'd talk to him as soon as she could.

Once down in the jail, Luke and Bo approached the front of their cells as they saw their kin coming down for a visit. Luke wasn't sure what was going on but the way that Daisy looked to their uncle as she walked up seemed off to him somehow.

"Mornin'."

"Mornin', Luke," Jesse said as he nodded in Bo's direction to greet him as well. "How you boys holdin' up so far?"

"Alright, for right now. But this is goin' to get mighty old before the two weeks is over."

"Try stayin' down here for twenty-five days, instead, Luke."

Luke rolled his eyes he went to answer his cousin, "If you'd kept your big trap shut in court you wouldn't be stuck down here that long. In fact, if you hadn't-"

"Alright, boys. We've all been through that enough. Stop kickin' that dead horse. 'Sides, we came down here to talk to you two about somethin' that's important." Jesse wrapped an arm around Daisy's waist for some support and could feel a slight tremor run through her body as she stood nervously about to tell her cousins what she'd come to say.

"What about?" Bo raised a brow as he waited for one of the others to tell them why they'd come down together.

"Well," Daisy took a deep breath before she continued, "You know how Darcy and I were plannin' our weddin' in June?"

"Yeh." Luke exchanged a look with Bo that clearly said that he was expecting their female cousin to tell them that she'd already picked out their ridiculous suits a full six months early.

"Well, our plans are goin' to have to change just a little bit." Daisy glanced at her uncle who gave her a nod to continue. "Instead, we're goin' to get married on New Year's."

"New Year's?"

"Why the change and so fast?" Both Bo and Luke asked in surprise.

"I…uh… Well, we just found out that… Um..." Daisy glanced toward the stairwell to make sure that Rosco wasn't eavesdropping before spitting out, "I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant!" The men shouted in unison.

"Boys, as Daisy said, a June weddin' is out and we're all goin' to stand behind her and Darcy and get this weddin' planned as fast as we can," Jesse interrupted to keep the men from saying anything that could hurt Daisy, even inadvertently.

"Pregnant," Bo said in more of a mutter to himself than anything else. Looking around, Bo noticed the stark absence of Darcy and had to ask where he was and why he hadn't come with Daisy to tell them.

"He spent the mornin' with me and Jesse discussin' the weddin' but he had to be at the airport by now. He had some flights out of Capital City and he was goin' to go ahead and put in for some time off for the first of the year." Daisy felt better now that she'd told her cousins but she was still waiting for Luke to say something, anything, about her wedding and the pending birth.

Meanwhile Luke was doing his best to not get upset at the fact that his unwed cousin was going to have a baby. Hazzard had been turned upside down with gossip with his and Jo's engagement. Especially once word had gotten around that Jo was pregnant shortly after the planting season had begun. Not to mention that the whole county was still a buzz over Bo's grand engagement of only two weeks. Now with Daisy getting engaged right on the heels of Bo with an engagement not much longer than their younger cousin, some of that talk was bound to rub off onto her.

He knew that he couldn't really judge her since he himself had gotten Jo pregnant before they'd even come to terms with their relationship. At least Daisy was already engaged when she'd learned of her pregnancy. Not to mention Darcy had told him a month ago that he planned to marry Daisy. Still, his initial response mirrored the way that he was sure that Bo would like to do; which just might be a reason that it was good that Darcy wasn't in the jail just now. He wasn't sure that the bars would have been enough to protect the man from the two men before they got control of their emotions.

Finally, Luke spoke up, "With Bo and me in here, how are we supposed to help? I'm not gettin' out 'til New Year's Eve and Bo…" Luke paused as the reminder of his cousin's extended stay caused him to grumble under his breath at the injustice of it all.

"I've already talked to Lulu about all of this. She's goin' to make sure that J.D. will be on board with the plans." Jesse chuckled as he thought back to the woman that he'd known for nearly as long as he had her husband. Of course he hadn't told her of the reason behind the rushed wedding so Lulu found a New Year's wedding to be romantic.

"She knows about… everything?" Luke was surprised that his family would let even the kind and lovable woman in on the secret.

"Well, not everything. We told her that I liked the idea of a new year while bein' a new bride and all." Daisy wished that she had thought of the idea before it had become a necessity but at least Lulu hadn't questioned it when she had heard it. "Darcy and I will get married just upstairs and Miss Lulu will convince Boss and Rosco to let Bo come upstairs for it."

"But haven't you always wanted to get married at the church?" Luke had listened to his cousin daydream about her wedding for nearly his whole life and no matter what she had changed throughout the years, the church had been the one constant since before she had even started school.

Daisy shrugged before saying, "The only thing that I really have my heart set on is having my favorite people in the whole world there. So, what do you say? Will ya help me make my weddin' everything that I've always hoped that it would be?"

Bo caught his uncle's eye with a look that had a world of meaning behind it. Whether he liked it or not, his cousin was both pregnant and was going to have to get married soon if she wanted to keep the rest of the town from knowing it before the wedding. Stuck behind the bars here at the jail, he didn't know what all anyone thought that he and Luke would be able to do but he went ahead and gave the obligatory nod anyway along with his oldest cousin.

"Good." Daisy gave a sigh of relief as she leaned forward to kiss both men in appreciation. "Now there is one thing that I want to know, Bo."

"What?"

"How did you and Kim get Kira to wear her dress at ya'll's weddin'?" Daisy gave a wink as she already started to think about the finer details of the wedding.

Laughing, Bo answered her, "I'll only tell you if that means that Luke and I won't have to wear pink, too."

"In that case, I'll just go ask Kim, instead." Daisy gave her cousins a wicked grin before she began to fill them in on the plans that they've already come up with.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jebb rolled his eyes as he spoke with his mother on the phone. He was trying to get the boys ready to head out for their play group and she was going on and on about wanting him and the boys to come on out to the family farm in Placid early for Christmas. He hadn't planned on leaving out for another week yet, but his mother was insistent that he should load the boys up today and drive on out to the house.

"Mom...Mom!" Jebb shouted trying to get a word in edge-wise. "You know that I can't just pick up and head out of town just like that. I have the farm, the boys, not to mention that Bo and Luke are-"

_"Are married and can take care of themselves. And between them and your farm hands, the farm will be fine for a couple of extra days," _Pauline said on the other end of the line. It was then that Jebb remembered that his mother had no clue that his cousins were in jail for Christmas. Well, he certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell her. _"Besides, if you drive on out here before the weekend, you'll even save Kira two very long drives. It's a lot closer to come to Placid from Atlanta then it would be for her to ride out to Hazzard. Especially since you two would just be turning right around and driving here once she got there anyway."_

Jebb couldn't exactly fight that kind of logic. Kira would be doing an awful lot of extra driving. If he drove out to Placid, Kira wouldn't have to drive this weekend; though Jebb didn't look forward to such a long drive to Placid with the twins alone. Still, with the fellas locked up and all...

"Mom, I'll think about it. Alright. The twins have a party to go to tomorrow, so if anything, the earliest that I can come out is on Thursday," Jebb said.

_"Are you sure that you can't come any sooner?" _Pauline pleaded on her end. She didn't think that she could make it until Thursday to talk face to face with her son.

"I'm sure, Mom. I'll call you tomorrow after I arrange things on this end. Okay?" Jebb then said good-bye to his mother and hung up the phone.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira scrunched her nose as she looked at herself in the mirror. All of her pants were getting tight which meant that she had to go do one of the things that she hated the worst. She needed to go clothes shopping. She just couldn't figure it out. She barely eats anymore, runs every day, and yet, she's gained more than five to six pounds lately; though it looked like more since she'd been retaining a lot of fluid, too.

Kira knew that the moment that she showed up in Placid, Pauline was bound to point out her weight gain. Back when she was pregnant, (before she knew she was having twins) she'd been quick to tell her that she was gaining weight faster than she felt she should have. Then she had been the driving force behind Kira working so hard to lose all of her pregnancy weight as soon as she could. Pauline had been all the motivation that she had needed to put her dieting into high gear nearly two years ago. Now it seemed that she'll need to go on a diet again.

Grabbing her teacup with the tea that Brent had been thoughtful enough to bring her to help her with her weak stomach, Kira flipped the morning news on and saw that there wasn't really anything new going on in the city. Kira wished that she could just call in sick today. Unfortunately, that just wasn't going to happen. If she could just make it another couple of days, Judge Turner will call for a recess for the holidays. Her stomach was just going to have to wait until then to rebel much past the general nauseum that had become her constant early morning companion as of late.

The problem then would be that she would have to survive Christmas and her anniversary with Jebb's mother who liked her slightly better than a case of the mumps. Then if she was lucky, she could go to Hazzard just long enough to celebrate Mikey and Jay's birthdays before she had to return to Atlanta. She and Jebb had a couple of presents for the boys that she hoped would be extra special for the boys. And she didn't intend for Jebb to get to give them to the twins without her being able to watch their faces when they saw them.

With Christmas just a week away, she'd much rather swap places with her brother in jail than to spend next week trading insults with Pauline. Shoot, compared to a week with Pauline, she'd feel like she was going on a vacation if she was in lock up.

Once her tea was finished, Kira began to head on out of her hotel room to make her way to court; praying the whole time that she wouldn't get sick today in the middle of the proceedings. She was nearly out the door when her phone rang. Groaning since she had wanted to get to court a little early this morning, Kira walked over to answer phone and was surprised to hear her father-in-law on the line.

"John, I wasn't expecting you to call. Is something wrong?"

_"Well, I don't think that there is but I wanted a chance to talk to you before you and Jebb come out for the holidays."_

"You don't _think_ that there is something wrong? So what's going on?"

_"I think I'd better come up to Atlanta. Are you free for lunch?"_

Kira eyed the phone suspiciously. "Sure. Meet me at the courthouse around noon and we can go out as soon as we break for lunch today."

_"I'll see you then."_

With that, John hung up and left Kira very confused and slightly worried about her mysterious call.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy waited for Jo and Kim at the dress shop so they could pick out the bridesmaids' dresses. Since neither they nor Kira were very handy with the sewing machine nor used to following a pattern, she figured that it'd be easiest to just have the local seamstress make the dresses for the women instead. Not to mention, Daisy doubted that any of the women would have time to make their dresses, anyway. Kim had her work at the clinic and the hospital, Jo had an infant just over a month old who needed her attention, and Kira had her trial going on in Atlanta.

Daisy, however, already had her Aunt Lavinia's dress ready for her wedding. She might need to alter some of the measurements if she started to gain weight before New Year's but for the most part, she had her dress ready to go.

When Jo and Kim got to the shop, the seamstress went right to work with double checking her measurements that she had on file for the two women since she had several women planning to get married within the next month. The woman held her tongue but she secretly wondered if the chestnut-haired Duke had fallen prey to the same reason that the other brides who were rushing down the aisle had. Two of the other women she knew for a fact that they were pregnant and were trying to fudge the date of conception. Not that she really felt that anyone would be fooled. All it would take would be for folks to count backwards to know that there had been an unwanted guest at the parents' wedding.

Kim was the first to be measured and she wasn't surprised that her measurements hadn't changed in the month since her own wedding. Next was Jo's turn and she was pleasantly surprised that she had lost more weight than she'd anticipated. At the last wedding, she'd given birth only two weeks prior and hadn't had that much time to start to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight. Seeing her new measurements gave her a sense of pride at her accomplishment.

After the measurements were taken, the women helped Daisy to choose a pattern that she liked for the dresses before heading down the street to order some simple bouquets of roses and baby's breath for the wedding. Daisy's would be nearly twice the size of her cousin's wives and she would have white ribbon to join the soft pink ribbon that would highlight the flowers. Later, Daisy said good-bye to the other women since they were going to visit with their husbands while the bride went to order a small cake that would be used to celebrate her and Darcy's marriage. It, too, would have a trim of pink along the edges and it would look as if it had a bouquet of roses sitting on top.

With the details taken care of, Daisy was hoping that Lulu had gotten Boss to agree to help with her plans for her wedding.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira packed up her briefcase and walked out of the courtroom and found John waiting for her out in the hall. She quickly joined him and waited for her father-in-law to tell her just why he'd felt the need to drive up from Tranquil County to see her in person. Finally, after the two had been seated at a diner and had their drinks delivered, Kira couldn't hold her curiosity any longer.

"Alright, John. Not that I mind the company but are you ready to tell me what this is all about?"

"Well, it's really nothing but-"

"John, if it was nothing, you wouldn't have called me up and come up here when I know very well that there are things back at the farm that needs to be tended to."

John couldn't help but to chuckle since he could picture his daughter-in-law calling his own son out in much the same way that she was doing to him now.

"Well, coming to town has also given me a chance to buy Pauline's present for Christmas without anyone calling her up and telling her what she's getting before I even get home." Kira laughed at the example of just one peril of living in a small, close-knit, community. Tranquil was a lot like Hazzard in that respect. One just about couldn't sneeze without someone across town knowing about it. "But to be honest, I wanted to see how you were. Jebb seemed to be worried about you getting sick the other day and-"

Kira rolled her eyes since she was really didn't think that she needed anyone else taking it upon themselves to watch after her health. "John, I've just had a touch of the stomach bug. It's nothing major; really."

"Well, I kind of figured that and I know that you're old enough to take care of yourself and all but like I said, I know that Jebb was worried. In fact, He'd sounded so worried that Pauline came up the other day to check on you."

"Pauline?" Kira looked confused for a moment. "I don't remember seein' Pauline here in Atlanta."

"I know. She told me that you didn't." John saw Kira's face darken just a bit and blew out a breath before he continued, "She said that you were with a friend and were leaving the hotel-"

"Brent," Kira said matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms and leaned back to stare at her father-in-law.

"Probably. Now I told her that she was getting bent out of shape for nothin'," John raised his hands up in defense as he spoke. "But you know how once she has a notion in her mind that it's hard to convince her that she might have mistaken what she saw. I told her that she ought to come and talk to you about it bu-"

"But she's already jumped to the conclusion that I'm cheating on Jebb," Kira finished for John. "Well, what about you?"

Raising his hands in his own defense, John was quick to say, "I think that if you had been you'd be looking guilty rather than pissed at the moment. I wasn't about to jump on Pauline's bandwagon without at least talking to you first."

Kira worked her jaw a bit as she tried to figure out just what to say. She was glad that John had at least come to speak with her and share his concerns but at the same time the fact that he'd seemed to be so wary about breaching the subject with her made her think that he had at least some doubt.

"I appreciate that," Kira finally said while trying to force herself to relax. "And since you came all of the way up here, you might as well as know that Jebb knows about Brent. I've been friends with him for years and we both used to ride together back when I was in college. In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion that Jebb called Brent to ask him to keep an eye on me while I'm in town. So, no, Jebb wouldn't have a problem with knowing that I went out to eat with Brent the other night."

John began to smile since hearing his daughter-in-law being so blunt with him made him feel so much better. "I knew that it had to be something like that. I've never seen two people that belonged together more than you and Jebb so the idea that something could be wrong like this just didn't jive."

Kira returned his smile weakly since she knew that John really had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt; even if Pauline hadn't.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

"No. Absolutely not." Boss puffed on his cigar as his wife droned on about Daisy Duke's wedding. How in the world she'd gotten drawn into it, he'll never know. Why should he have to change his schedule up just for a Duke?

"J.D.! You are goin' to do this for that girl or…or…" Lulu looked around the house as if looking for inspiration before glaring at her husband. "Or we'll be sharin' a refrigerator!"

"Sharin'? Now that ain't fair!"

"It's the weddin' or the refrigerator," Lulu said as she crossed her arms. "So what's it goin' to be?"

Boss grumbled under his breath, not liking his options.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira laid down on the bed and kicked off her shoes as she waited for Jebb to pick up the phone. She was still ready to fume over the fact that Pauline had jumped to conclusions when she'd seen her out. Still, at least John had clued her in on what was going on.

When Jebb picked up the phone, he sounded exhausted after a day of taking care of their twins. He told Kira of the Christmas party that they would be going to the next day and he lightly complained that she was there to take them instead since spending an afternoon with a dozen toddlers wasn't exactly his idea of a fun day.

"Oh, and I suppose you think that its mine instead?" Kira laughed as she listened to Jebb then go on to tell how they'd gone tree shopping and put the decorations up in the living room. He told her how most of them ended up at about knee level since he'd let the boys put the garland, ornaments, and bows up where ever they wanted. He didn't have the heart to move anything that they'd taken such pride in hanging up. "I'll have to make sure to make a big deal over it all when I come home Friday."

"Um, about Friday," Jebb knew that his wife wasn't going to like the change in plans for the weekend but he had told his mother that he'd head on up to Placid early this year.

"Yes?"

"I got a call from my mother and she convinced me that it'd be better if the boys and I head on up early. She pointed out that it'd save you a long drive just to have to drive back out anyway."

"Oh she did, did she?"

"She was pretty insistent that I should go home as soon as I could."

Kira sat up and frowned since she knew the reason that her mother-in-law wanted Jebb to go back to Placid alone before Christmas. "And I'm pretty sure that I know the reason that she was so insistent, too."

"Oh yeh?"

"Your father came to Atlanta and we had lunch today."

"Pop came up to Atlanta?"

"Yes and he told me that your mother has it in her head that I'm up here runnin' around on you."

"What? Where'd she ever get a half-crazed idea like that?"

"I'll tell you where. Someone asked her to come to Atlanta without tellin' me that she was comin' and she saw me leavin' the hotel with Brent. That's where she got that idea."

"Oh." Jebb didn't know if he should apologize to his wife for sending his mother to check on her after she'd left Hazzard more than just a little under the weather or if he should bust out laughing at the absurdity of the idea of Kira going out with Brent behind his back. In fact, a call to his mother hadn't been the only one that he'd made on Monday. Brent had told Jebb that Kira had been hiding the fact that she hadn't felt quite right for nearly the entire time that she'd been out of town.

"I can't believe that you sicced your mom on me just over a stomach bug."

"Hey, I was worried about you. You're a lawyer, sue me," Jebb teased his wife since the only way he was going to stay out of the dog house was to try to make her laugh. Fortunately, it must have worked since she only groaned lightly at his joke before she went in to tell him everything that she'd learned from John. Shaking his head, he just couldn't figure how his mother could have jumped to such a wild conclusion.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy leaned back on the couch as she told Darcy just how telling the men in the jail about the change in plans had gone. He was glad that neither of the men had reacted badly to their cousin when they learned of the reason behind the alterations to the wedding plans but he had the feeling that he might not be so lucky once he went to see them for himself alone. After leaving the jail, Daisy and Jesse met with Jeb, Jo, and Kim and told them of the new plans as well.

From there the women had gone over to the dress shop and picked out the brides maid's dresses. After telling of the dresses that Daisy had picked for the other women she then went on to tell of going over to the bakery to pick out a cake for the small reception. During the telling, there was something that bothered Darcy. After a few moments, Daisy looked up and saw a look on her fiancé's face that told her that something was wrong so she asked him about it.

"You said that you picked out the other's dresses, what about yours?"

"Oh, I plan to wear my Aunt Lavinia's dress. I already know that it fits perfectly and-"

"Isn't that the dress that you planned to get married to Enos in?"

Daisy paused as she gave Darcy a questioning look. "Well, yes… but we didn't actually get married then… You don't want me to wear my aunt's dress, do you?"

Darcy chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to figure out a way to answer her without sounding like an ass. "Daisy, you planned to marry another man with that dress. What if I'd given you a ring that I'd bought for another woman as your engagement ring? You wouldn't feel right with that would you?"

"A ring is different," Daisy insisted even as she heard how lame it sounded on her own ears.

Instead of responding, Darcy just raised a brow and waited for her to follow up her explanation on how the two were not on the same level. Instead Daisy blew out a breath since she realized that Darcy was right. She hadn't thought about how using the same dress for both ceremonies might not sit well with her soon-to-be husband. Especially since she hadn't actually walked down the aisle at her first wedding. But he was right, she would have thrown a fit if she'd been given a second-hand ring meant for another woman as an engagement ring.

"I'll go to the store tomorrow and see if there is a dress I like that won't take too much alterin'. If not I'll run by the fabric store and just run up a dress myself. One made just for our weddin'."

Darcy hugged her just a bit closer and kissed the top of her head in appreciation. If Daisy had been insistent on using her aunt's dress, he would have given in. He was just glad that he hadn't had to. They deserved to start off their marriage without shadows or echoes from their past relationships haunting them. Their wedding day should only be about them, no one else.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kim scrunched her brows as she read the lab report on Mrs. Miller's blood that she'd drawn after bringing her to town to stay until she was back up on her feet. The paperwork suggested that the old widow hadn't been taking her medication for her heart for at least a month but she knew for a fact that she had been. Kim had been making a special effort to see the woman herself at least three times a week and would give Mrs. Miller her pills before she left out each time. On the days that she couldn't make it, she knew that her uncle went instead. There was no way that her trough levels should be so low.

Reaching for her phone, Kim called over to the hospital to arrange transportation for the old woman. She needed to be admitted right away to get her back up to safe levels. She only wished that she knew how they could have dropped down so low while still taking the proper medications.

* * *

~01~

* * *

The next couple of days were busy with getting most of the plans together for the wedding. Jebb and Kira would return the day after Christmas from Placid to help with the final touches but that would leave just under one week for the seamstress to sew Kira's dress. As a result, she was forced to use the measurements that she had all hand from the last wedding just a month before.

By Thursday night, it was time to load up the twins and head back to his folks' home in Placid. Fortunately, his father did give him a bit of advice before Jebb agreed to leave early for the weekend. Only venture out for that long of a car ride alone once the boys were asleep. Christmas wasn't until Wednesday but there was plenty to do with the family between now and then. With both boys buckled into their seats in the back of the car, each with a juice cup and were sleepy since it was well past their bedtimes, it was nearly a certainty that both of the twins would be asleep before the family car got out of Hazzard.

When Jebb showed up at his parents' house, everyone was in bed just as expected. Jebb left the luggage in the car and just hauled the twins in and took them up to his old room. He put the boys in one of the old twin beds. It was up against the wall so Jebb figured that all he had to do was just slide the other single bed over up against theirs. Then he wouldn't have to worry about them rolling onto the floor. One thing was certain, though, it was going to be rough with both him and Kira up here along with the boys. They were a lot bigger than the last time the four of them had all come to Placid.

Maybe he should ask about using Karen's old room for the boys while they were up for Christmas. After all, Karen lived in Tranquil (the county seat which was only about twenty minutes away as the Duke drives) so she hadn't used it in years.

Exhausted, Jebb collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep in his clothes.

The next morning, Jebb was awakened by Mikey pushing on him the next morning. He was ready to get up and his father was blocking his way. Reluctantly, Jebb crawled on out of bed and moved the pillows around to make sure that Jay wouldn't roll off of the bed onto the floor. He carried Mikey on downstairs and headed to the table where his mother was already putting breakfast out for the family.

"Mornin'," Jebb muttered as he sat down with Mikey on his lap and he started to put a couple pieces of bacon on the plate in front of him along with some scrambled eggs.

"Where's Jay?" Pauline asked as she set a bowl of grits onto the table.

"He's still asleep," Jebb said with a shrugged.

"Do you really think that's wise? Letting him sleep so long."

"He always sleeps longer than Mikey. If he gets up now, he'll be whiney most of the morning," Jebb replied to his mother. He could tell that his mother still didn't approve of him letting his youngest sleep in a bit but Jebb knew what worked best for his kids. "Mom, I was goin' to ask ya somethin'. I was thinkin' that maybe we could set Karen's old room up for the boys."

Pauline couldn't help the slight, sad smile. She'd been thinking along the same lines though for different reasons, she was sure, than why Jebb was suggesting it. "We could do that. The boys do need a room of their own. We can go shopping after Christmas-"

"Mom, you know that Kira and I will be taking the boys home right after Christmas," Jebb said as he fed Mikey some grits while balancing the toddler on his lap. He wasn't sure if anyone had filled his mother in on Daisy's hurried wedding but he wasn't about to be the one to tell her about it.

"About that..." Pauline said as she eyed her grandson. Pauline asked her daughter as she took her own plate to the sink. "Emma, could you take your nephew from your brother?"

Jebb gave his younger sister a questioning look to which she just shrugged and took her brother's oldest son from him. Jebb then stood up and followed his mother to the pantry.

"Something on your mind?" Jebb asked as he hopped up on the counter in the pantry. Pauline gave her son a disapproving look which caused Jebb to go ahead and hop back down.

"I wanted to talk to you about Kira."

Jebb closed his eyes as he braced himself what his mother was about to say about his wife this time. Fortunately, he already had a pretty good idea what it was going to be thanks to his father's visit to Kira earlier in the week.

"When you called Monday night, you said Kira was sick."

"Yeh?" Jebb asked knowing what his mother was getting at but figured he'd play along. "So?"

"Well, I went to Atlanta and saw her after I got off of the phone with you, Monday."

"Kira didn't tell me that she saw you this week," Jebb scrunched his brows together as he spoke, trying to look confused.

"Well, I saw her, she didn't see me," Pauline said a bit self-righteously.

"I don't understand."

"I got to Kira's hotel just as she was heading out for the evening," Pauline said as if that was everything that needed to be said.

"So she was going out. Maybe she didn't want to eat hotel food for dinner," Jebb replied logically.

"Jebb, I don't know how to say this..." Pauline said as she looked into her son's eyes. "She... She wasn't alone," Pauline said tentatively.

"What?"

"I saw Kira leaving her hotel and get into a car with another man Monday night. She didn't look sick to me, either," Pauline said as she moved forward a bit to console her son that looked so confused.

"Come on, Mom. Kira ain't seein' no one else. Kira just wouldn't do something like that."

"Really? Then let me ask you a few questions. Like are you and Kira still spendin' as much time together as you usually do?"

"You know that she's been in Atlanta working a lot, Mom," Jebb muttered to his mother suddenly not sure if he should let his mother keep going down this road of hers after all.

"But when she's home, Jebb. Has she been locking herself away in that office of hers; maybe, until all hours of the night?"

"She's had a big case load lately. She has to prepare," Jebb said in defense of his absent wife.

"I see," Pauline said doubtful. "So that would be a yes to the fact that she is making less time for you?" Jebb glared at his mother for insinuating that Kira could be anything less than true to him. "Alright, well then has she been picking any fights lately, acting moody? Have you noticed her wearing clothes that you didn't know she had?"

"She has to wear different clothes to court, Mom," Jebb said.

"What about phone calls, has she been closing the door to her office when she's on the phone."

"Mom, if Kira was talking on the phone to a lover, don't you think it'd be all over Hazzard before she even hung up? That's not something that Maybelle would let slide."

"Well, you could at least go to Atlanta and see for yourself. I'd be willing to bet that you'll catch her with that cop since she doesn't know that you're in the area."

"Cop?" Jebb asked then after a couple of seconds, trying not to bust out laughing, and figured that he'd give his mother what she thought she wanted; for a moment. "I've always known that those two were too close."

Pauline could feel her jaw go slack as she watched her son connect the dots that she'd so desperately drawn for him. She hated that it would hurt him so much but it was something that had to be done. Much like ripping off a bandage after it had been on for too long. "So you know who he is?"

Jebb nodded and bit the inside of his cheek while wishing he'd set up a video camera for this so Kira and he could have enjoyed watching it later on. "Kira's known him since college. Well, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do."

"What's that?"

"Pack the kids up and move back home and let Kira and Brent have the house."

Pauline wanted to shout out, _Exactly! _Her boy had always been too good for that girl anyway. And to think that her son has wasted three years being married to her, it was almost too much to even think about. Pauline went over to her son and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, "You know you and the boys will always have a home here, Jebb."

"Of course I'm sure that if Brent moves to Hazzard, Kevin will want to go too."

"Kevin? Who's this Kevin?" Jebb leaned over about to ruin the whole effect by laughing his head off. Luckily, Pauline thought that his chest was heaving from crying rather than trying to hold back the chuckles.

"Kevin is Brent's live-in boyfriend. Though I'm not sure that Hazzard is ready for an openly gay couple. They should all make for interesting trio there in Hazzard," Jebb stood up and openly laughed now as he wiped an honest tear from his eye. One brought on from holding back for so long.

"What is so funny? What do you mean by… How do you know that this Brent is… He was out with your wife, Jebb!"

"I asked Brent to look in on Kira from time to time while she's been in Atlanta. Besides, I know that she ain't his type because Brent tried to pick me up the first time I met him." Jebb couldn't help the grin of satisfaction that crossed his face as his mother's face reflected just how horrified she was at the mere thought of another man putting the moves on her little boy.

"Are you sayin'...that Kira associates with ... those kinds of people?" Pauline said not being able to say the words.

"Just because Brent's gay don't make him a bad person, Mom. He'd do anything for Kira if she asked him to. Trust me, if something was going to happen between them, it would have been long before now," Jebb said as he got ready to head back out into the kitchen.

"Jebb, you could at least go and see for yourself. What if it isn't this pervert of Kira's that I saw."

Jebb rolled his eyes. "I tell ya what; I will head to Atlanta right after lunch. That way I'll still get to court before Kira leaves for the day."

By this time, John came in from checking on the animals and realized that despite his suggestion to see if Kira could explain herself to his wife's satisfaction, Pauline had voiced her concerns to their son. And this was after he'd gone to speak with his daughter-in-law where she'd convinced him that they really didn't have anything to worry about. By looking at Jebb's face, John felt that Kira's explanation on how Brent was an old friend whom Jebb likely had asked to watch after her while in Atlanta was dead on.

"Pop, the boys will be fine with you and Mom won't they? If I'm goin' to Atlanta, I don't see no reason to rush back. Kira and I will come home in the morning," Jebb said as he sat down to finish his breakfast that he'd been sharing with his son before he'd gotten interrupted.

"I don't see why they wouldn't be. You and Kira take your time," John said as he looked back and forth between his wife and son. Something told him that he'd missed an awful lot this morning.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

Jo waited at the gate for her father just a bit nervous. She wasn't sure just what he was going to say when he learned that Lukas was in jail for a barroom fight but she had a pretty good idea that it wouldn't be good. She just hoped that having Faith here with her would help keep him from completely blowing his top.

Standing by the stroller, Jo saw her father among the other travelers so she waved him over. With his bags in hand, the general quickly made his way to his daughter and granddaughter and gave both of them hugs as he glanced around while looking for his son-in-law.

"Where's Luke? Didn't he come with you?"

"Actually, no, he didn't."

"He didn't? Why not?"

Jo leaned over to put the infant back into the stroller as she mentally steeled herself for her father's reaction to learning of just why Lukas wasn't with her to pick him up. "Dad, I think I'd better talk to you about that as we head to the car."

Thomas gave his daughter a dubious look before grabbing his bags and followed her to where Joanna had parked the Mustang.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy cleared some tables as the lunch rush began to wind down a bit and looked up as she saw Enos walking in and head over to the bar to take a seat where he usually did. Knowing that she really couldn't put off talking to him any longer, Daisy went over to take his order.

"Hey, Enos. I haven't seen you in here very much, lately." Daisy took a bar rag to wipe down the counter as she spoke, mainly to give her something to do. "Not for the last week, at least."

Enos looked around bashfully before lowering his eyes to the bar. "I… uh… I've just been busy, Daisy. You know, with the fellas at the jail and all."

"Yeh, havin' the others in there could keep ya a little busy. Listen, I've been wantin' to talk to you. I know that I should have said something to you about the engagement before word got out," Daisy said quickly before she lost her nerve. "I just didn't want to see you hurt, none. You've known that I've been seein' Darcy for a long time and, well, it only feels right to marry him. I've always been very fond of you but I really love Darcy. You understand, don't you?"

Enos looked down at his cup of cocoa for a few minutes before he answered. "Daisy, all I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. I'm sorry that I wasn't the one that could do that for ya, but I am glad that you found someone who could."

Daisy smiled widely and reached out to pull Enos into a tight hug, "I knew you'd understand."

"I know that Darcy's a good man, Daisy. He'll take real good care of you," Enos said as Daisy released him from her death grip.

"I know that, too." Remembering the incident from church, Daisy wanted to point out that women like Patty and many others really would like a chance to go out with him but she figured that now wasn't really the right time. Plus she wasn't sure if he'd even hear her if she tried to talk to him about other women at the moment. "Now, how about I get you your lunch now?"

"Sure thing, Daisy," Enos said while trying to be happy for the only woman that he'd ever wanted to love.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Thomas had ridden to town with his daughter when she took Faith in to the clinic for a checkup. While Joanna was busy inside, the general decided to walk down the street to speak to his son-in-law about getting himself locked up over the holidays. When he was let downstairs by one of the deputies in town, he immediately walked over to stand in front of his daughter's husband's cell and crossed his arms and waited for the explanation that he shouldn't even have to ask for.

"General," Luke greeted his father-in-law with a nod as he felt an eerie case of _déjà vu._ It had been just over a year since the two had met for the first time and it had been under similar circumstances. Once again, he was locked away after being involved in a barroom fight and the older man had come looking for him down in the cool jail cell.

"When Joanna told me what happened, I didn't want to believe her. Surely the man who had stood before God and everyone else to promise to take care of her hadn't left my daughter alone at home with a one month old simply because you couldn't fight the urge to have a little fun at the local bar again. But here you are, caged up once more. Care to explain yourself?"

"General, believe me, this isn't how I planned to spend Christmas. Obviously, things got out of hand."

"I'll say they did. You and your cousin there getting locked up for beatin' a man to a pulp; or is it alright for two men here in Hazzard to knock the hell out of a third man," Hart narrowed his eyes.

"It wasn't anything like that! Luke was trying to stop me and Ernie, he wasn't fightin'," Bo said as he leaned against the cell bars.

"Then why is it that he was arrested along with you and this other man?" Thomas turned away from Luke and bore a hole into the imprisoned blond.

"Because Boss and Rosco don't pass on any opportunity to lock up a Duke. That's why," Bo snickered. "Ask anybody in town. Go on. There ain't nearly a body in Hazzard that won't tell ya how things really are around here. Rosco ain't nothin' but Boss's stooge. He does whatever Boss tells him to do. Go and talk to the merchants in town. Any one of them will-"

"Bo, that's enough," Luke said quietly from his own cell.

"You honestly expect me to believe that the law in this town is crooked?" Thomas asked but never got an answer because at that moment, Lulu and her brother were coming down the stairs and were arguing the whole time.

"Now Lulu, I don't think the Boss is goin' to like this none," Rosco said as he stepped out of the way as Cletus came down the stairs behind him carrying a large box.

"You leave J.D. to me," Lulu responded to Rosco then turned to the men behind the bars. "Howdy, Boys!"

"Well hello there, Miss Lulu. You're lookin' mighty fine this mornin'," Luke said politely to the commissioner's wife. He eyed Lulu's green dress with red Christmas flowers. "And festive, too."

"Why thank ya, Luke. I got this dress especially for Christmas," Lulu did a turn to show off her dress.

"It sure looks awfully nice on ya, Miss Lulu," Bo grinned as the kind large woman showed off for the fellas. "What cha' got in the box?"

"Oh, I figured that I'd spruce things up a bit down here since you poor boys are stuck in here over the holidays," Lulu said as looked to the general and offered her hand to the man. "Oh, where are my manners. I'm Lulu Hogg. And you are?"

"I'm Joanna's father, you can call me Thomas."

"Joanna? Oh, you're Jo's daddy! Well, you must be so pleased that she married such an upstandin' fella like Luke," Lulu giggled as she turned to sort through the box that Cletus had clumsily put on the nearby desk.

"Well, I-" Thomas started but the woman continued before he could disagree on the fact of whether or not Luke was all that upstanding.

"Rosco, I need that other box from my car and we need to bring it down here," Lulu said as she sorted through the decorations that she'd brought with her.

"Lulu, I still say that the Boss won't like this," Rosco said as he pulled out a string of lights that he seemed to get tangled up in immediately.

"You let me worry about that. Now, there's a tree that needs to come down here too."

"What! G-jit! Absolutely not. I have to draw the line right here, Lulu. I can't havin' you decoratin' a Christmas tree for prisoners," Rosco said firmly as both Duke Boys watched on in amusement. Meanwhile, Thomas was a bit dumb-founded by the exchange.

"Oh poo! Well they wouldn't have ended up prisoners if you didn't arrest them nice boys every time they sneezed." Lulu used some garland to smack her brother with it. "Now that tree might be too much for you to manage. You may need to take some help on up there with you," Lulu said as her face brightened up. "How about you Bo? Would you mind dragging that thing down here?"

"No, no, no, no! No! He's in lock up and is stayin' in that cell. Now, Lulu, you've gone too far. You're steppin' all over on my authority here."

"I'd be happy to help ya, Miss Lulu. If I could," Bo smirked. Watching Lulu bossing Rosco around was the most fun he'd had since he'd gotten locked up.

"Well ya can't! So don't be gettin' no ideas there, Bo Duke," Rosco said glaring at him.

"Rosco, either you unlock that cell, or I will. Besides, he's only going as far as upstairs to get the tree."

"That's what you think. These Dukes are slippery critters. You let one out, they'll both be out of here and I'll have my hide nailed to the wall," Rosco said with his hands on his hips.

"Fiddlesticks, Bo, you tell him that you ain't goin' nowhere," Lulu said as she snatched the keys from her brother.

"On my word as a Duke, ma'am," Bo grinned as he watched Rosco's eyes bug out as Lulu opened his cell.

"That's good enough for me," Lulu said with a smile. "Cletus, I need you to fetch the other box of decorations, so you go on and get." Lulu then led her helpers back upstairs while Rosco was fussing the whole time.

"I'll admit," Thomas said once he was once again alone with his daughter's husband. "That was a bit of an unusual exchange."

"All just par for the course here in Hazzard," Luke smirked. Sobering a bit, he then straightened and looked back to his father-in-law. "General, trust me when I tell you that this isn't what I want for my little girl. I've been kicking myself harder than you ever could all week. I'm not going to try to change your mind about me. I know that coming from the outside, there just ain't no way to fully understand the way things are here in Hazzard. But don't ever doubt my devotion to my wife and daughter. I may fail them from time to time, but I will always do everything I can to provide for them."

Thomas cocked a brow at Luke and remembered a similar confrontation over a year ago. "I've said this before, Son. You've got balls. I'll give ya that much. You've got balls."

Thomas wasn't given anytime to go on since Bo was coming back down with the rest of the decorating committee. Bo stood the large tree that Lulu had purchased for the lower jail into the stand and saw to it that the tree was straight before going back to the cell and pulled the door closed behind him as he continued to smile as Lulu started to give the staff directions on where everything else was to go. Cletus was downstairs bouncing around while Enos was upstairs doing his best to follow his orders as well. Rosco, meanwhile, seemed like he just didn't know what to do.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira looked at her watch and saw that if she wanted to get to the small natural foods store that sold the herbal tea that she'd been using to help settle her stomach lately, she needed to get moving. She had begun to use the herbal tea after Brent and Kevin had given her some when they knew that she'd been getting sick a lot. Considering how sick she'd been this week, Kira figured that she'd better get some extra tea before heading out to Placid. Nearly a whole week in the same house as Pauline was bound to push her to her limits.

Lovely.

On her walk out of the courthouse, Kira saw her friend Brent heading her way. Kira smiled at him as she headed his way.

"Alright, I'm signed up to take the sergeant's exam next month."

"You'll pass it with no problem," Kira said as she grinned.

"You getting ready to head out?" Brent asked since he knew that his long-time friend needed to get home to her family in Hazzard.

"Just as soon as I make a stop at that little shop that you showed me the other day."

"That tea helping any?" Brent asked. His boyfriend had recommended an herbal tea to help Kira with her nausea so he'd taken her some to her hotel Monday night. Brent then made sure that she knew where she could get more.

"Helps enough to get through court at least. I better get going before they close. I'd hate to miss them. I'm out until the sixth. Judge Turner likes his Christmas Break. He doesn't plan to interrupt it for anything."

"Lucky you. At least you get two whole weeks with your family."

"Not so lucky. I get to spend nearly half of that time under the same roof as my mother-in-law. I do get to go home for my boys' birthdays, though. But from tonight to next Thursday, I'll be trying to avoid killing Jebb's mother."

"I'll be sure to keep my ear to the ground for any word out of Placid then. Just promise me if that nausea doesn't go away that you'll check in with a doctor." Kira rolled her eyes. She hated that folks always worried about the slightest stomach ache simply because she'd been so sick in the past. "If you don't, I might call Jebb."

"Don't bother. He saw that I was sick Monday morning," Kira muttered. "Don't ask," Kira added when Brent raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I doubt that he knows that you've been sick for nearly the whole month."

"It's just stress," Kira said as she tried to convince her long-time friend. "Besides, didn't Kevin diagnose it as being _Love Sick_ since I'm not used to bein' away from Jebb and the boys so much no more?"

"And here I didn't think that you were the type that went in for roses and romantic notions," Brent belted out as he gave Kira a hug and wished her a Merry Christmas.

As Brent left, Kira pulled her shoulder bag around and started to dig around in it to make sure that she had everything that she needed before heading out. That was how Jebb found her when he approached his wife wanting to surprise her. He walked over to Kira and slipped an arm around her waist. A bad move considering she wasn't expecting him. Jebb got a sharp elbow to the ribs then before he knew it, his arm was twisted behind his back and he got a face full of the brick wall.

"Well, at least I know you haven't lost your touch," Jebb choked out after having the breath knocked out of him.

"Jebb?" Kira said in surprise as she saw some court officers heading her way. They must be thinking that he was harassing her. Kira released Jebb and motioned to the officers that she was alright. "What are you doing here?" Kira asked as she hugged her husband. She'd missed him this week.

"I figured that I'd save you a drive out to my parents' place for the night. With everything else goin' on in the next two weeks; between havin' to bunk in with the boys at my folks' house, then getting Daisy's wedding together and all…" He shrugged lightly as he finished, "I just figured that tonight might be the only time that we'll get to have some time to ourselves."

"Where are Mikey and Jay, now?"

"With Mom and Pop," Jebb replied. "So, what do you say? Disappear for the night instead of heading on out to Placid?"

Given the choice between spending the night with her husband at the hotel or with him in his old childhood bedroom, there really wasn't much to debate. Forgetting the tea that she'd planned to go buy, Kira headed off to the parking garage with Jebb and planned to enjoy her time with him while she could.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kim packed up for the end of the day and decided to take a few files home with her to keep her busy until nightfall. She couldn't explain it but something felt wrong to her lately.

First Mrs. Miller and her health declining despite the fact that her medication had kept her condition under control for years, then she totaled up the number of women who had come in to the clinic pregnant in the last couple of weeks. All of whom had been on birth control for years. How had that many women beaten the odds of the pills' effectiveness? In addition, there were a few others who had come in for various complaints who were all on medication that should have had them under control.

If she didn't know better, she'd have thought that everyone in town had suddenly just stopped taking any of their medication. Birth control, blood pressure, anti-depressants, even sleeping pills. It was as if all of them had just stopped working for the people of Hazzard.

Making a mental note to talk to Russell over at the pharmacy the next day, Kim locked up the clinic and walked down the street to the garage where she'd parked the General Lee. She figured that Bo and Luke would feel better if they could see their beloved car while she was in town. Plus, it gave her a chance to catch a glimpse at her husband and wave to him each evening before she went home for the night.

Of course she still wasn't used to having to make rounds in the race car but considering that she and Bo hadn't gone shopping for a new car for her to replace her totaled Jeep yet she'd just have to make do for just a while longer.

Looking across the street at the jail, Kim caught a glance of Bo through the small window in his cell. She blew him a kiss before climbing into the orange stock car and headed home.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Daisy turned the sewing machine off and lifted her dress, or the part of it that she'd finished so far, and eyed it carefully. She had decided to make her dress look as close to her aunt's as possible with just a little bit of modern flair. She'd even splurged just a bit on the material since she figured that for such a special occasion and the fact that she'd only get married once she should make her dress truly memorable. And who knows, she might be passing this dress down to her own daughter one day.

Taking the bodice, Daisy slipped it on real quick to see if she needed to make any adjustments before she continued. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Daisy got a dreamy look in her eyes as she began to imagine her wedding in only a week and a half. True, it wouldn't be the wedding that she'd always planned but it would be a small price to pay to finally be getting married to a man she loves and having a baby on the way. At least she could still have her uncle give her away and her cousins would be there with her to make it as perfect of a day as possible.

"Daisy," Darcy knocked on the door to the spare room as he called her name. "I thought we were goin' out tonight."

"Don't come in here!" Daisy shouted as she tugged the bodice off and hid it under the rest of the material that was sitting on the bed in the room. "You can't see the dress until our weddin'."

"Then come on out so I won't have to come in to get you," Darcy joked. "I'm hungry and ready to go."

"I'm comin'." Daisy checked her make-up and hair before slipping out of the room, taking great care not to open the door wide enough for Darcy to take a glimpse in to see what progress she'd made on her wedding dress. "Honestly, you'd think that you haven't eaten in a week the way you're carryin' on."

Daisy teased her soon-to-be husband as they headed out. She knew that time together would be scarce after tonight until their wedding since he'd traded some flights with some of the other pilots so that he could get some time off for their honeymoon. But at least she knew that once they were married they'd have all the time in the world together.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

Kim locked the door to the clinic after checking on a few things in town. She'd already gone to see Bo for her daily allotted visit for the day. When she had gotten to the court house earlier, she was surprised by the fact that there seemed to have been a complete transformation inside since she'd come by yesterday afternoon. There was a tree in the process of being decorated by Enos while the rest of the upper court house was covered from floor to ceiling with garland and ornaments. The lower jail was decorated in much the same way. She'd passed Lulu as she left out and thanked the plump woman for thinking of the men while they spent their holidays in jail.

When she headed out of town, she passed Jo's car so she knew that Luke would be getting his visit soon enough. Kim was near the Duke Farm when she got a call on the CB asking her to check on a patient on the other side of the county so she turned her car around. Kim figured that since she was on her own today, she might as well as stay busy; hoping that she could wear herself out today to the point that she could go back to her own home today and be too exhausted to be spooked by any of the noises from the woods. After all, she was a grown woman and there was no reason why she couldn't stay by herself. Ted was still locked safely away behind bars in the state prison. With Jo's father out at the house, Kim felt it was just time to go home.

Smiling to herself, maybe she could ask Jo if she'd like to go for a run together later on. She knew that Jo was doing her best to get down to her pre-pregnancy weight. Jo went for a run nearly every morning before Luke was locked up then again in the afternoon. Without Luke home, though, that had gone by the way-side. Maybe while out checking on her patients, Kim might head over to Capital City and look into getting Jo a jogging stroller for Christmas. That way Faith could go along with her mother on the runs.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jesse looked down at the scrap of paper that Bo had given him when he'd gone in to see the boys for the day earlier in the day. Part of him was proud of the fact that his nephew had taken the time to put in some real thought on his wife's Christmas present. Her ex-husband had destroyed her violin years ago which had left her without an instrument. Bo wanted to return to Kim what Ted had taken from her so he'd saved up the last bit of his winnings from the last racing season to buy a new one.

On the other hand, Jesse was slightly irritated that his nephew had waited until the last minute to pick the present up. Which meant that since he was now locked up, the only way that the present would be under the tree for Christmas would be for him to pick it up for his jailed boy and put it there himself.

Luke, however, hadn't gone shopping yet so he'd been regulated to asking Enos to let him use the phone to talk to the service clerk at the department store help him with ideas for his presents for both his wife and daughter and hope that the woman had similar tastes to Jo. Ordinarily he'd send Daisy but with her being busy with planning her wedding, he hadn't wanted to bother her.

Now Jesse was on his way to retrieve the presents for his nephews. He just hoped that this would be the only time that his nephews were foolish enough to get themselves locked up over the holidays.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Jebb gripped the steering wheel as he thought over the morning that he'd spent with his wife. He wasn't sure if he should take it as an insult or not considering that she'd gotten sick in the middle of their love making for the second time in just one week.

The New Year was always met with a bit of fear since that was the usual time for Kira to see her oncologist. This meant that as the holidays neared, Jebb subconsciously began to search for any indication that when they got the results from the yearly tests that they'd be anything but positive. Not to mention that ever since the boys were born she'd been having to see other specialists as well. He thought about all that he'd seen in the last couple of weeks.

Kira had been nauseous, a bit moody, and he knew from their night out last weekend at the Boar's Nest that she seemed to go to the bathroom more often than she usually does. He'd also noticed that she seemed to tire a bit easier than usual. Heck, she'd even fallen asleep with the boys last weekend and she never did that. She wouldn't even take a nap when she was pregnant unless he forced her to. As they'd gotten dressed before heading out, he'd even noticed that he must have bruised her last night while he was making love to her. She always bruised easily due to her light skin but he hadn't thought that he'd been that rough with her last night.

Putting all the symptoms together, Jebb started to feel a cold knot in the pit of his stomach. There were two instances that had given Kira similar problems to what she had now. One was when she was pregnant. Ironically, she hadn't suspected that she was pregnant at all. She'd thought that the blood cancer that she'd already had two battles with had returned. Jebb figured that since he'd taken it upon himself to make sure that she couldn't get pregnant again by having a vasectomy that only left the other unpleasant option as the possible reason for her being so sick.

The flu wasn't like this. The flu didn't attack randomly throughout the day or night. If you were sick, you stayed sick until you were well. Jebb made a mental note to watch his wife a bit closer while she wasn't working over the holidays. Then he'd best call the specialist and double check just when Kira's appointment was. Maybe even see if he could get it upped from the end of January.

When the couple arrived at Jebb's parents, they found the boys were in the kitchen where Pauline was making gingerbread cookies with them. The moment that they saw their parents, though, the cookies were left forgotten.

Kira caught the glare that Pauline gave her so she just gave her a false smile that let her mother-in-law know exactly what she really thought of her latest meddling. She wasn't going to light into the older woman in front of her kids but she wasn't about to just forget that Pauline had accused her of cheating on Jebb either.

For supper that night, Pauline had Jebb's favorite foods on the table and had even made her famous Chocolate Chess Pie. When Jebb made a comment about all of the food as he sat at the table, Pauline just said that she thought that Jebb could use a decent meal.

"You look like you've lost some weight, Jebb. I guess havin' to chase after them boys all by yourself all the time can really take it off of ya," Pauline said as she eyed Kira. "Though I guess you're the only that's losing weight. Here, have some more greens," Pauline said as she put an extra spoonful of the mixed greens.

"Mom, I ain't lost no weight and you know it," Jebb said as he dug into his plate.

Meanwhile, Kira picked at her own supper. She couldn't explain it but she just wasn't all that hungry and the smell of the greens seemed to hit her the wrong way tonight. As the rest of the family devoured their food, Kira mainly just pushed hers around on her plate. When the dessert was served, she still hadn't eaten more than a few mouthfuls.

As Pauline started to serve the pie, Kira grabbed Jay's plate from his dinner to make room for the pie plate and put it on top of hers to hide the fact she'd not really eaten. She then grabbed Mikey's and carried them to the kitchen as Emma and Emily helped to clear the table as well.

Kira wasn't really sure if she wanted to head back to the family dining room so she stayed behind when the girls went back for their own dessert. Kira put a pot of water on the stove and waited for it to boil. When the water was ready, Kira fixed her tea and reluctantly returned to the table with it.

By that time, the dinner conversation had turned to Daisy and her pending marriage. Pauline had the satisfaction of believing that she'd been right all of these years about Daisy and the fellas; that Daisy hadn't gotten married before now simply out of duty to her cousins. She had felt that she couldn't get married and leave them without a woman to take care of them. And while she didn't like the fact that there wouldn't be a large wedding for the whole family to attend, Pauline did find the notion of getting married at the stroke of midnight as the New Year began to be a romantic idea.

Jebb rolled his eyes but let his mother go on without interrupting her. It wouldn't hurt anything by letting her believe what she was saying anyway. As he was finishing his dessert, he noticed that Kira was only sitting at the table with the family with a cup of tea instead of a plate for herself.

"Aren't ya havin' any dessert? I know that you love mom's pie," Jebb said.

Shaking her head, Kira replied softly hoping that no one else would hear her, "I'd better not. My jeans are a little tight."

"You know, I noticed that myself," Pauline said from her end of the table. "Maybe you should try this new diet that Grace has been on. She lost ten pounds in a week. I can get you the information on it before you leave."

Kira shot daggers at her mother-in-law. "I haven't gained more than a couple of pounds, Pauline. I think I'll forgo the miracle diet of yours," Kira said as she sipped her tea. It was true; her pants were tighter than they should have been after such a slight weight gain. But then again, with her heart and kidney issues, water weight has always been the bigger issue. Right now, she was more bloated than anything else.

"Well, if you change your mind. You know, you really should watch your weight a bit closer. Once a woman hits thirty, the weight is a lot easier to put on than take off," Pauline said as she stood to start clearing the dessert dishes. She wasn't sure if it was wrong of her to have enjoyed the fact that Kira started to work her jaw in an effort to not reply but enjoy it she did. She still wasn't convinced that the man that she'd seen stepping out with Kira was strictly a friend. It looked like she'll be making a few more trips to Atlanta in the next month than she usually did.

Pauline started to do the dishes as the rest of the family headed into the living room. When Kira brought the last of the dirty dishes to her in the kitchen, she couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"What the hell was all that in there?" Kira said as she pounded her, now empty, tea cup down next to Pauline on the counter.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Pauline said innocently.

"Like hell! Knock it off. It's not enough that you had to try to scare the shit out Jebb this week. Making him think that I was cheatin' on him-"

"I saw you goin' out with a man on a night that your husband thought that you were sick."

"I was going out with a friend that Jebb knows well. He doesn't have a problem with Brent and since you mentioned it, yes, Jebb is my husband; which means that the two of us make decisions regarding our family. I don't need you constantly going behind my back and under-minding me on every decision I make."

"As Jebb's mother, it's my job to watch after him to make sure that he doesn't get hurt by anyone," Pauline said as she bore a hole in her son's wife. That look was returned ten-fold by Kira.

"And just who do you think will hurt him? Me? You have a lot of nerve, Pauline, if you think that I'd just sit back and let you try to turn my family against me," Kira said in a deathly quiet voice.

"He was mine first. When all is said and done, a man can have as many wives as he wants, but he can only have one mother," Pauline said standing her ground.

It was then that John came to check on the women, it having been a while since they'd both gone into the kitchen together. After three years, his wife and niece didn't get along any better than when they'd first met. In fact, they never seemed to find a way past the wall of distrust of one another that had been built up the moment that Kira and Jebb's relationship first came out. Here he'd hoped that when they'd both called a truce at Luke's wedding just under a year ago that it would be the end of this slight war between them. Unfortunately, it hadn't taken long for his wife to re-engage their niece/daughter-in-law in battle.

"Are you two done with the dishes? The boys are ready to..." John looked between the two women and saw that they looked just a mere second away from coming to blows. "Am I interrupting anything?" John asked as he intently starred at his wife since he knew that whatever had happened, Pauline was bound to have instigated it.

"I'll head on into the living room," Kira said without looking away from her mother-in-law. "I think Pauline's got everything under control just the way she likes it."

Kira then poured herself another cup of tea before heading into the other room as John turned to his wife.

"Pauline, I thought we talked about this."

"John, I know that-" Pauline was interrupted by the sound of a dish shattering followed by her son's voice.

"Kira!"

John and Pauline left the kitchen and found Kira collapsed on the floor with her teacup shattered beside her. Next to her was Jebb trying to bring his wife around while both of his sisters as well as his boys were looking on from where they'd planned to watch a Christmas movie.

"Emma, you and Emily take the boys upstairs," John motioned to his girls as he knelt beside his son and daughter-in-law. He then took Kira's clammy hand in his own and felt for her pulse. It seemed faster than it should be. "Pauline, call Doc Greenwood."

* * *

~01~

* * *

Kira waited impatiently as the town doctor checked her blood pressure as three watchful pairs of eyes looked on. One standing right beside her and the other two from the other side of the room. When the older man removed the ear buds to the stethoscope out of his ears and wrapped the medical device around his neck he told her that her pressure was up.

"I could have told you that without a medical degree," Kira rolled her eyes as she rolled her sleeve back down.

"I'll assume that you're on medication and you've been taking it," Doc Greenwood said ignoring the comment from his patient. Over the last two years he'd seen her off and on when she visited the Dukes with Jebb; he was well used to her snippy comments when she wasn't feeling well.

"Of course I've been takin' it. Every morning with breakfast. Today being no different."

The doctor raised a brow at the statement since he doubted that the woman sitting in front of him was as religious as she claimed with regards to her medication since if she had he didn't think that her pressure would be as high as it was nearly a half hour after she passed out.

"With that being the case, I suggest that you take another in the evenings and check back with the doctor in Hazzard when you get home. In the meantime, try to relax. Avoid salt, alcohol and any stressful situations."

Kira knew that all but the last suggestion would be child's play. Avoiding stress while in the same house as her mother-in-law for the next week, however, would be damned near impossible. Especially while Pauline had the ridiculous notion in her head that she was cheating on Jebb.

"Thanks, Doc," Jebb as the man headed toward the door. The older Dukes walked the man out which left him alone with his wife for a moment so he asked, "You sure you feel alright now?"

"Peachy," she said while breathing out hard. She still felt a little weak but she wasn't in the habit of admitting stuff like that. Carefully, she stood up so that the room wouldn't start spinning. Kira eyed Pauline before turning back to her husband. "I think I'd better just head upstairs. Go on to bed."

Jebb nodded since he figured that would be best as well as he thought back to his musings from earlier. Kira's collapsing was just one more symptom to put on the list that already had him on edge. He wasn't sure exactly what the cause of his wife's spike in blood pressure was but one thing was certain, he'll be watching her very closely over the next week while she was around for Christmas. Which will make for a very tense holiday for sure.

* * *

~01~

* * *

Christmas approached the Dukes, both in Placid and in Hazzard and while Jebb continued to keep watch and noticed other instances where he felt that Kira wasn't sharing when she felt more than just a little off (particularly in the mornings) his cousins who were sitting in jail continued to mark off the days until they were free once more.

Lulu had arranged for them to have a small party on Christmas night where they had had the typical holiday feast with their family. They each exchanged gifts and if one hadn't looked toward the bars on the cells behind them all or on the windows, it would be very difficult to imagine that it was all taking place inside of a jail.

Thomas had been surprised by the party since he was certain that this kind of fair was not the usual at other jails, regardless of just how much everyone in a town knew one another. Needless to say, Christmas hadn't gone as he'd expected. In any case, it was good to see that his daughter now had a strong connection to a very close family who wouldn't allow even the most unusual of circumstances to put a damper on their holiday.

Along with the rest of the family, Darcy and Daisy spent the evening celebrating their last Christmas as an unmarried couple. They were very excited that in just one week they would be married. Once married, they will be able to plan for their baby.

Daisy was already making plans for the nursery, not so secretly hoping for a baby girl of her own. She had found material that she was just dying to buy for a baby quilt and curtains but didn't dare for two very big reasons. One, if she bought material for a baby quilt before she was married, news of her pregnancy would be all over town before breakfast the next morning. Two, it was just too early to find out for sure if she was having a girl or a boy.

In just a couple of weeks she'll be able to come out about her pregnancy without shame since she'd be a married woman planning a family with her husband. However the wait to learn the gender of her baby would be a bit longer. A wait that seemed to be eternal to Daisy as she envisioned her baby that she'd have in her arms the next time she celebrated one of the holiest holidays of the year.


End file.
